Oh goodie, here come the Putinbots and the butthurt Russian expats who escape to the west either because it has better opportunities or to launder money, but still hold loyalties to the dictator.

That’s too much work

My Illinois plate story - I had a roommate years ago from Illinois. He requested and paid for personalized Illinois plate. He asked for his name and year of birth - "Curt 68". When he got them they said, "Kirk 52". He just kept them figuring it wasn't worth fighting with the DMV.

Spending billions of what?

You asked “What’s a “peaceful” US warship doing 70 miles off the the coast of Russia.” As stated in the article, they were on a routine training exercise with fellow NATO member Poland.