Washington - The repeated close encounters between Russian and U.S. warships and planes may not be an accident. That's the view of analysts who are coming to believe that the risky Russian maneuvers - there have been at least six close calls this year - are part of Vladimir Putin's strategy aimed at challenging the U.S.'s global position and intimidating its European allies.
CNN: Experts say Putin flexes muscles with Russian-US military close calls
A Russian Sukhoi Su-24 attack aircraft makes a very-low altitude pass by the USS Donald Cook (DDG 75),an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer, operating in the Baltic Sea April 12, 2016.
