NATO Aircraft Intensify Flights Near Russian Black Sea Borders Over 24 Hours

The Russian Armed Forces continue to monitor and track the situation in the Black Sea region.

Over the past 24 hours, NATO reconnaissance aircraft have substantially increased their flights near Russia's borders in the Black Sea region, Major General Igor Konashenkov, official representative of the Russian Defense Ministry report on Wednesday.

We recall that on 9 November, an E-8C US Air Force ground target reconnaissance and strike control aircraft was escorted over the Black Sea by the anti-aircraft missile forces of the Russian Aerospace Force.

Also during the past 24 hours, Russian anti-aircraft missile forces escorted three reconnaissance aircraft of NATO member states over the Black Sea:

a US Air Force RC-135 strategic reconnaissance aircraft flying from an airbase on the island of Crete, Greece, approaching the Russian Federation state border at a distance of 30km.

a US Navy P-8A "Poseidon" base patrol aircraft took off from an air base on the island of Sicily, Italy, approaching the Russian Federation state border at a distance of 70km.

a C-160G "Gabriel" reconnaissance aircraft of the French Air Force departed from an airbase in Romania and approached the Russian state border by 30km.

Another US Air Force U-2 strategic reconnaissance aircraft, flying from British territory, was detected and accompanied by radar reconnaissance over Ukrainian territory, approaching the border of the Russian Federation at a distance of about 60km.

Russian ships: the missile cruiser "Moskva" and the frigate "Admiral Essen", which have been performing routine tasks in the southeastern Black Sea since 30 October, are monitoring US naval activities in the Black Sea as they arrive to conduct an unscheduled multinational exercise.

The USS "Porter" guided-missile destroyer left the Georgian port of Batumi this morning at 8.56am Moscow time.

At 9.20 a.m. Moscow time, the USS "Mount Whitney", a staff ship of the US Navy, departed Batumi. The USS John Lenthall tanker is in the southwestern part of the Black Sea.

The actions of the US Navy, together with reconnaissance and strategic aviation in the Black Sea, confirm the true purpose of the unscheduled multinational exercise: to master the anticipated theatre of war and, in particular, Ukrainian territory in case Kiev prepares a power solution in the southeast.