Near miss: Russian destroyer almost collided with US cruiser in Philippine Sea

The U.S. Navy on Friday said that a Russian destroyer nearly collided with one of its guided missile cruisers after an “unsafe and unprofessional” approach in the Philippine Sea.

While the USS Chancellorsville was recovering a helicopter “on a steady course and speed,” the Russian ship “maneuvered from behind and to the right of Chancellorsville,” the Navy wrote in a news release.

The Russian ship “accelerated and closed to an unsafe distance of ~50-100 feet,” forcing the U.S. vessel to “execute all engines back full and to maneuver to avoid collision,” the statement read.

"We consider Russia's actions during this interaction as unsafe and unprofessional."

The Russian Pacific Fleet’s press service released its own account of the incident, saying the U.S. Navy vessel “unexpectedly changed course and crossed the route of Russia's anti-submarine Admiral Vinogradov vessel 50 meters afar" in a “dangerous maneuver,” Radio Free Europe reports.

The incident comes just days after U.S. fighter jets intercepted three Russian jets off the coast of Alaska in two days.