MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 16th March, 2023) Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Wednesday during a phone conversation with his US counterpart, Lloyd Austin, that the flights of US strategic drones Global Hawk off the coast of Crimea were creating the preconditions for an escalation, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Wednesday.
Shoigu and Austin had a phone conversation earlier in the day at the initiative of the US side.
"During the conversation, it was noted that the flights of US strategic unmanned aerial vehicles off the coast of Crimea were of a provocative nature, which created prerequisites for an escalation of the situation in the Black Sea zone," the ministry said.
Russian is not interested in such a development of events, but it will continue to respond proportionately to all provocations, the ministry said.
Major nuclear powers should act as responsibly as possible, including maintaining military communication channels to discuss any crisis situations, it added.
US strategic drones Global Hawk regularly fly in the Black Sea off the southern coast of Crimea. According to Flightradar24, since the beginning of the special operation, these drones have already completed more than 110 flights off the coast of Crimea. On average, over the past period, US drones visited the region from 8 to 13 times a month, performing reconnaissance flights lasting up to 10 hours.
