Announcing the deployment on thursday
russia's defense ministry said the
british presence was part of an overall
increase in military activity from the
u.s and its allies in the black sea
region. President Pladimir Putin apparently
discussed the issue with german
chancellor Angela Merkel in a phone call
on thursday.
The ministry said it had scrambled a Suhoi SU-30 fighter jet to meet a
british boeing RC-135 reconnaissance
plane which it said had drawn close to
crimea. It said the uk plane had changed course
after being approached by the russian
plane.
Putin told merkel by phone that western
actions in the black sea region were
dangerous to stabilizing and provocative
the kremlin said. A UK ministry of defense spokesperson
said we do not recognize these claims. Wherever the wrath royal air force
operates it is so in full compliance
with international laws and exercises
its right to freedom of overflight.
According to the russian defense
ministry the Optick in NATO activity has
involved two u.s warships, strategic
aviation and four nato spy planes in the
past 24 hours including the british one. It added that it appeared to be a NATO attempt to gain insights on what could
be a potential theater of war. Something
it said might be helpful in the event
that ukraine tried to take back its
eastern dan base region which it lost to
pro-russia separatists in 2014. It said two russian warships were
tracking the us vessels.
In june the
british warship hms defender entered
crimean waters drawing a fierce response
from moscow. russia annexed crimea from ukraine in
2014 and says the waters around it
belonged to moscow now. despite many
countries continuing to recognize the Peninsula as Ukrainian.
