Russian Spy Ship Spotted Off Long Island Coast

A news report Wednesday morning places the Russian spy ship Viktor Leonov near the Long Island coast.

The spy ship, last tracked about 30 miles south of a Navy submarine base in Groton, Conn., is technically in international waters but U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., shared the Fox News story on his Twitter page and wrote, “Russia is acting like it has a permission slip to expand influence, test limits of reach. Questions are obvious: does it, and if so, why?”

A U.S. official said the Russian spy ship was “loitering” in the water, Fox News reports.

Fox News states that the purpose of the Russian spy ship is to “intercept communication and collect data” on U.S. Navy sonar capability, but adds that the ship does have missiles too.

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Officials say they can’t recall a Russian spy ship advancing this far up the Eastern seaboard. Pentagon officials told Fox News that they expect the ship to head back to the Caribbean eventually but no timetable was given.

"We are aware there is a ship," Petty Officer Joshua Canup told Patch. Canup would only say that they were aware the ship is off the Atlantic Coast.

The Department of Defense released a statement to 47 ABC that echoed Canup's, saying the department was aware of the ship's presence and the vessel had not entered U.S. territorial waters. The department further stated that it "[respects] freedom of navigation exercised by all nations beyond the territorial sea of a coastal state consistent with international law."

The reports come on the heels of revelations about the Trump administration's ties to Russia.

Michael Flynn stepped down as national security adviser on Monday. Patch previously reported Flynn’s departure followed revelations that he misled White House officials about communications concerning sanctions he had with a Russian official back in December.

The New York Times reported Tuesday that multiple campaign associates were in contact with Russian intelligence officials for a year prior to the election. CNN then published an article later that night relaying similar findings.

President Trump took to Twitter early Wednesday morning to denounce the recent reports, referring to the sources as "fake news."

Read the full Fox News report here.

Written by Patch staff. Patch file photo.