RUSSIAN defence officials Thursday rejected US criticism of two Russian pilots who buzzed an American guided-missile destroyer in the Baltic Sea earlier this week.

A defence official told Fox News that two Russian Su-24 attack aircraft approached the USS Donald Cook (DDG-75) at an “unsafe” speed and altitude as a helicopter was taking off f-rom the flight deck.

The jets came within 1000 metres of the destroyer in their initial encounter Monday. The following day, a Russian jet came within just metres of the destroyer.

“As a safety precaution, flight operations were suspended until the Su-24s departed the area,” said the US European Command, which oversees US military operations in that area.

A spokesman for the Russian defence ministry said on Thursday the pilots of Russian Su-24 jets saw the ship and turned back “while using all measures of precaution”.

Too close for comfort. Picture: AFPSource:AFP

Major General Igor Konashenkov said he was baffled by what he described as the “distressed reaction of our American counterparts”.

The US European Command statement said Wednesday that officials were using diplomatic channels to address the matter.

It was unclear when or if the US government would formally protest the Russian actions, which come at a time of tensions between Washington and Moscow over Russia’s annexation of Crimea, its military intervention in eastern Ukraine and fears among former Soviet states in eastern Europe that Russian aggression could threaten their independence.

White House press secretary Josh Earnest said the incident was part of a pattern of unsafe Russian aircraft action.

‘On the deck!’ Russian fighter jets buzzed the USS Donald Cook in the Baltic Sea on April 11-12. Picture: AFPSource:AFP

“This incident ... is entirely inconsistent with the professional norms of militaries operating in proximity to each other in international waters and international airspace,” Mr Earnest said.

“There have been repeated incidents over the last year whe-re the Russian military, including Russian military aircraft, have come close enough to each other or have come close enough to other air and sea traffic to raise serious safety concerns. We continue to be concerned about this behaviour.”

European Command released a Navy photo showing one Su-24 soaring past the Cook at close range.

A Navy video clip shows another low-altitude pass with a US sailor shouting, “Below the bridge wing,” meaning the Russian plane was flying below the level of the Cook’s navigation bridge.

Russian president Vladimir Putin is having none of America’s panicked response. Picture: Mikhail Klimentyev/Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via APSource:AP

“We have deep concerns about the unsafe and unprofessional Russian flight manoeuvres,” European Command said in its written statement. “These actions have the potential to unnecessarily escalate tensions between countries, and could result in a miscalculation or accident that could cause serious injury or death.”

The US believes the Russian actions may have violated a 1970s agreement meant to prevent unsafe incidents at sea. The agreement was between the US and the former Soviet Uni-on but remains in force with Russia.

Russian jets buzzed the USS Donald Cook in the Black Sea in similarly provocative fashion in April 2014. More recently, a Russian fighter jet intercepted a US Air Force spy plane over the Black Sea in January.