MOSCOW (Dispatches) — Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov has directed the general staff of the Russian armed forces to propose a plan responding to U.S. drone operations over the Black Sea, the Russian Ministry of Defense said Friday on social media.
The ministry highlighted an increase in the frequency of U.S. strategic drone flights over the Black Sea, which are conducting reconnaissance and targeting for high-precision weaponry supplied to Ukrainian forces by Western countries.
These drone flights heighten the risk of incidents involving Russian Aerospace Forces’ aircraft, thereby increasing the likelihood of direct confrontation between the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and Russia, said the ministry.
“This indicates a growing involvement of the United States and NATO countries in the Ukraine conflict on the side of the Kiev regime,” it said, adding that “NATO countries will bear responsibility for these actions.”
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov hassadi that changes may be made to the Russian nuclear doctrine in light of the Ukrainian conflict.
Ryabkov said “further clarifications” would probably be made to the doctrine to reflect the experience from the Ukrainian conflict “when the classic old interpretation of nuclear deterrence did not work properly,” RIA Novosti reported.
Russia is ready to do everything to ensure its security, and “Western provocateurs” must understand this, Ryabkov said.