The intensity of aerial reconnaissance of NATO countries near the borders of Russia continues to grow. Over the past day, six flights of Alliance reconnaissance aircraft have been recorded over the Black Sea. This was reported on Friday, November 12, by the press service of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation.
"In the central and northwestern parts of the Black Sea, reconnaissance flights were recorded by three US Navy P-8A Poseidon patrol aircraft from an air base on the island of Sicily (Italy), a C-160G Gabriel reconnaissance aircraft of the French Aerospace Forces from an air base in Romania, a RC-135 strategic reconnaissance aircraft of the US Air Force from an air base on the island of Crete (Greece), as well as a strategic reconnaissance aircraft U-2S of the US Air Force," the message says.
The ministry added that the US Navy vessels consisting of the destroyer Porter, the staff ship Mount Whitney and the tanker John Lenthall, after making the transition from the Georgian port of Batumi, are in the southwestern part of the Black Sea and continue to move westward.
"The Russian Defense Ministry regards the aggressive US military activity in the Black Sea region as a threat to regional security and strategic stability. The true purpose of the unprovoked actions of the United States by Russia in the Black Sea region is to study the theater of military operations in case Kiev resolves the conflict in the southeast by force," the ministry concluded.
Earlier in the day, the vice-speaker of the Crimean parliament, Vladimir Bobkov, said that the authorities of foreign countries are beginning to flirt, arranging provocations with the approach to the shores of Crimea. According to him, foreign countries are testing Russia for strength, how seriously it is ready to defend its territorial integrity.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov noted a day earlier that NATO exercises in the region are a matter of concern for Russian leader Vladimir Putin. He also said that there are constant operational contacts between the military to de-escalate the situation.
Senator from Crimea Olga Kovitidi, in turn, said that Russia is ready to neutralize any provocations in the Black Sea region. She stressed that an extensive combat-ready grouping of ground troops and forces of the Black Sea Fleet has been deployed on the peninsula, capable of repulsing the Armed Forces of both the United States and its allies.
On November 9, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation discovered a ground target reconnaissance and strike control aircraft of the US Air Force over the Black Sea. The liner approached the borders of the Russian Federation by 35 km. On the same day, the Russian military department reported that the US actions were related to the study of a possible theater of military operations in the preparation of a military solution by Ukraine in the Donbass.
On October 30, the headquarters of the Sixth Fleet of the US Navy and Naval strike forces and NATO support forces began operations in the Black and Mediterranean Seas. The American Arleigh Burke-class missile destroyer USS Porter has begun transit to the Black Sea to interact with NATO allies and partners in the region.
