OREANDA-NEWS  Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said that the United States and NATO continue to conduct provocative activities in the airspace and waters of the Black Sea.

Shoigu notes that at the moment the military-political situation in the southwestern strategic direction remains difficult. The head of the country's Defense Ministry calls the reason for this the attempts of a number of foreign states to increase their military presence at the southern and western borders of Russia.

Earlier, on April 14, the Secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation Nikolai Patrushev also announced the increased activity of NATO in the Black Sea. At the same time, according to the commander of the Southern Military District, Alexander Dvornikov, over the past year, American aircraft carried out more than 140 reconnaissance flights near the southern borders. They also conducted 13 large-scale exercises.

On April 19, it became known that American fighters were deployed to Poland as part of a military exercise. However, according to Pentagon spokesman John Kirby, such actions are not related to the events taking place on the Russian-Ukrainian border.