The conflict in the Black Sea The activity of Western military forces has been observed in the Black Sea since the beginning of this week.
The reason was the entry into the waters of the US Navy ships - Mount Whitney and Porter. According to the official version of the United States, the ships have been sent to the region to conduct joint exercises with NATO countries and partners. The Ukrainian authorities, in particular, welcomed these actions.
Russia is confident that the passage of ships near the borders of the Russian Federation and the upcoming exercises are nothing more than an attempt to test the Russian defense capability, including the Black Sea Fleet. According to Putin, not just a large NATO naval grouping has been formed in the Black Sea, but aviation, including strategic aviation, is also being used. This is a "serious challenge" for Russia, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in the program "Moscow. The Kremlin. Putin" on the channel "Russia 24".
"It seems that we are simply not allowed to relax, but let them know that we are not relaxing," the head of state said. However, the Russian Federation will not take any retaliatory measures, that is, its unplanned exercises, as the Ministry of Defense intended to do. The Russian military is limited to escorting aircraft and ships.
"I think it is impractical and there is no need to escalate the situation there," Putin said.
There is also unrest on the border of Russia and Ukraine. At least, this version is held by the Pentagon, which monitors the "activity" of the Russian side in the region. Information about the pull-up of Russian troops to the borders with Ukraine was spread by the American media last week, but it has not received confirmation from either Russia or Ukraine. Nevertheless, the United States accused the Russian Federation of "provocations" and warned against a repeat of the events of 2014, without specifying what exactly it was about. Russia denies all speculation about an offensive against Ukraine.
Putin, on the other hand, called the assumptions that the Russian Federation is preparing an attack on Ukraine alarmist.
The president did not comment further on the publications of the Western media. Speaking about the conflict in the south-east of Ukraine, Putin recalled that Russia is not reflected in official documents as a party to the conflict. However, other countries are trying to force her to publicly implement the Minsk agreements.
"I believe that, apart from the meeting in the Normandy format, we have no other settlement mechanisms in Donbass, and no matter how difficult it is today, no matter how difficult it is to solve this problem, but we need to use this mechanism," Putin stated.