A furious John Kerry denounced Russia’s “stimulated attack” in the Baltic Sea under the US’ rules of engagement.

Mr Kerry said: “We condemn this kind of behavior. It is reckless. It is provocative. It is dangerous. And under the rules of engagement that could have been a shoot-down.”

 “People need to understand that this is serious business and the United States is not going to be intimidated on the high seas … We are communicating to the Russians how dangerous this is and our hope is that this will never be repeated.”

A US official said the repeated flights by the Sukhoi SU-24 bombers – which also flew near the USS Donald Cook destroyer a day earlier – were so close they created wake in the water.

The official said it was one of the most aggressive interactions between the former Cold War enemies in recent memory – despite the fact the planes appeared to be unharmed.

On at least one occasion an Su-24 came within an estimated 30 feet of the ship, which was in international waters about 70 nautical miles from the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad – which hosts Russian military forces.

The Cook did not respond except to unsuccessfully query the Russian pilots by radio.

Russian defence ministry spokesman, Igor Konashenkov, said the crews of the Russian bombers respected all safety rules.

But White House spokesman, Josh Earnest, said Washington had raised its concerns with Russian officials.

He said: “I can tell you that that communication has occurred, and we’ll seek to resolve our differences through well-established military channels”, Express reported.

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