US Drone Flights Increase Risk of Direct NATO-Russia Confrontation, Russia's Defense Ministry Says
© Sputnik . Valentin Kapustin / Go to the mediabankThe Sukhoi Su-30 of the Russian Aerospace Forces is a twin-engine, two-seat supermaneuverable multirole fighter aircraft.
© Sputnik . Valentin Kapustin
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MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Flights of US strategic drones over the Black Sea increase the likelihood of incidents with the Russian Aerospace Forces and increase the risk of direct confrontation between NATO and Russia, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement.
Russian Defense Minister Andrey Belousov instructed the General Staff to propose response measures to provocations associated with the increased activity of US strategic drones over the Black Sea, the Russian Defense Ministry stated.
“Such flights greatly increase the likelihood of incidents in the airspace with aircraft of the Russian Aerospace Forces, which increases the risk of direct confrontation between the alliance and the Russian Federation. NATO countries will be responsible for this,” the ministry said.
US drones are conducting reconnaissance to designate targets for Western weapons supplied to Ukraine, the statement read.
It said this indicates the increasing involvement of the United States and NATO member states in the conflict in Ukraine on the side of the Kiev regime.