Vladimir Putin's military claims a US warship nearly caused a collision with a Russian military vessel in the East China Sea.
Moscow's Pacific Fleet accused the American ship of dangerous manoeuvring.
The Russian Navy claims the USS Chancellorsville, a guided-missile cruise, had come within just 50 metres (165ft) of the Russian destroyer Admiral Vinogradov.
Moscow claimed the Admiral Vinogradov had been forced to take emergency action to avoid a collision around 3.35am GMT on Friday.
The US has not yet responded to the claims.
The Admiral Vinogradov launched in June 1987 and was seen shadowing US Navy vessels during an exercise near Hawaii in the summer of 2016.
It is named after Nikolai Ignatevich Vinogradov, who commanded submarines in the Soviets' Northern Fleet in the Second World War, and rose to the rank of admiral.
The USS Chancellorsville has guided missiles and rapid-fire cannons, and carries two anti-submarine helicopters.
It has been in service since July 1988, and was previously part of a carrier strike group engaged in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
It is currently based in Yokosuka, Japan.
Meanwhile, a Kremlin spokesman claims Britain was responsible for damaging its relations with Russia and rebuffed a call made by London for Moscow to change its behaviour on the international stage.
Prime Minster Theresa May's spokeswoman said on Thursday Britain could only have a better relationship with Russia if it changed its behaviour.
On Friday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted as saying by Interfax news agency: "No we won't change our behaviour because all Russia wants is mutually beneficial relations that are based on taking into accounts the interests of one another."
A diplomatic row erupted after Russian former spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were poisoned with a military-grade nerve agent at his home in Salisbury, Wiltshire.
Britain has accused Russian intelligence officers of smuggling the Novichok nerve agent into the country in a perfume bottle and carrying out the attack in March last year.
