WASHINGTON — The showdown over Russia's troop buildup along the border of Ukraine continues to intensify.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Navy has assembled a lot of firepower in the Mediterranean region, with many of those ships and sailors coming from Hampton Roads.
Navy Times and USNI News report that four guided-missile destroyers (the Norfolk-based USS Gonzalez and USS Mitscher, along with the Mayport, Florida-based USS Donald Cook and USS The Sullivans) have deployed to the U.S. 6th Fleet area of operations to support NATO allies.
Armed with Tomahawk cruise missiles, the destroyers provide in-theater combatant commanders and an array of strategic strike options.
These ships join four Navy Ballistic Missile Defense destroyers based in Rota, Spain: USS Ross, USS Roosevelt, USS Porter and USS Arleigh Burke.
Additionally, there is the aircraft carrier Harry S. Truman and its carrier strike group, which deployed in December and recently participated in "Neptune Strike 22" with NATO allies in late January and early February. At the time, Navy leaders were vague about the group's mission, destination and deployment's duration.
The Truman Group includes the destroyers USS Bainbridge, USS Cole, USS Gravely and USS Jason Dunham, and the guided-missile cruiser USS San Jacinto.
USNI News reports that the collection of ships now in 6th Fleet is the largest gathering of U.S Navy ships there since 2018.
Pentagon leaders have maintained the many ship movements are not in response to any actions (or any anticipated actions) by Russia regarding the situation in Ukraine.
On that score, Defense Department spokesman John Kirby said Monday the U.S. is still hopeful for a peaceful resolution.
"We would welcome a pursuit of that path by the Russians, because we too believe that there still should be and can be a diplomatic path forward," he said.
Kirby said that Russian President Vladimir Putin is adding more military force and capability near Ukraine's border with each passing day, and, "he could move with little to no warning."
As for any American response to a Russian invasion, Kirby said, "The US would respond swiftly with severe economic consequences."