NATO Reconnaissance Flights in the Black Sea Region Have Grown by 60%, May Trigger Armed Conflict — Russian Deputy DM

Systematic provocations by NATO near Russia’s borders are fraught with major risks of developing into an armed conflict, Russia’s Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Fomin has said.

“Lately, the alliance opted for direct provocations, fraught with a great risk of developing into an armed standoff,” Fomin told a news briefing for foreign military attaches and representatives of foreign embassies accredited in Moscow.

As an example, he mentioned the June 23, 2021 attempt by the British destroyer Defender to intrude into Russia’s territorial waters near Crimea’s Cape Fiolent.

“It is significant that the US strategic reconnaissance plane RC-135 provided support for the British naval ship,” Fomin said.

The intensity of reconnaissance flights in the Black Sea region has grown by 60% in contrast to 2020. The number of sorties increased from 436 to 710.

Fomin said that the presence of combat and supply ships from NATO’s extra-regional countries had become permanent.

“In January through December this year, NATO’s ships have made 30 visits to the region, in contrast to 23 in 2020. The overall duration of their presence reached 400 days, in contrast to 359 in 2020,” Fomin said.

He stressed that after the United States’ pullout from the INF treaty NATO in fact ignored Russian President Vladimir Putin’s initiative for a moratorium on the deployment of intermediate and shorter range missiles in Europe and for mutual verification measures that might eliminate the existing concerns.

“The deployment of such missiles in Europe is unlikely to give NATO greater security,” Fomin said.

Source: TASS

7 Comments
  1. GMC says

    Simple solution – close the commercial air traffic to the Western airliners until the recon situation is addressed. When Russia stopped small international flights from Crimea, this opened up Nato’s chance to fly all day long around Crimea – stupid move since the Crimean flights could have used Russian military craft for security around the TSA and beyond.. The first flights should have been going Simferopol to Damascus, in order to set a president of Russian military air security flights and shut down the Israeli attacks on Damascus. My 2 rubles worth.

    1. ken says

      Before covid I thought no one was stupid enough to believe this….

      1. GMC says

        I used to watch Navy Pensacola flights fly over the bay when I worked on the Horizon oil spill – It was a waste of taxpayers money to protect the Gulf of Mexico from who? Russia ? Mexico ? Venezuela or Nicaragua? lol If you were actually in the military as I was – you would know more about air recon in the Black Sea. Go ride your bike over to the historic jail where they kept Jeronimo – maybe you can find a relic. No offense

  2. London says

    They don’t mind. The pilots earned their salary this month, as they all did up to Air Chief Marshal Sir Mike Wigston. He keeps his job not by defending Britain or following the compromised PM but by following a certain gentleman in a country mansion as the entire British ruling class does. They give no feedback, just take orders. From someone who actively despises all except some of his own kind, and wants unconditional surrender or nuclear war. Sad.

  3. Cap960 says

    Great target practice for Russia.

  4. ken says

    “Systematic provocations by NATO near Russia’s borders are fraught with major risks of developing into an armed conflict,…”

    No matter how true,,, Russia has used this line so many times the West just lays back and yawns….

  5. nnn says

    Zionist mafia runs the show

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