Moscow: A Russian anti-submarine destroyer chased off a US submarine near the Kuril Islands, forcing it to leave the country’s territorial waters on Saturday, amid rising tensions over Ukraine.

According to the Russian Defence Ministry, during military drills the Marshal Shaposhnikov, anti-submarine destroyer had detected a US Navy Virginia class submarine in Russian territorial waters near the Kuril Islands in the Northern Pacific. In connection with the violation by the US Navy submarine of the state border of the Russian Federation, the defence attaché at the US embassy in Moscow was summoned to the Russian defence ministry.

There is no truth to the Russian claims of our operations in their territorial waters, said the statement from the US military. Captain Kyle Raines, US spokesman for the Indo-Pacific Command, said he would not comment on the precise locations of US submarines. We do fly, sail, and operate safely in international waters, he added. Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday condemned such claims as a provocation.