“The Black Sea forces and means have begun monitoring the actions of USCGC Hamilton, which entered the Black Sea on April 27,” said Russian National Defense Control Center on Tuesday, shortly after the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet confirmed the Hamilton had entered the Black Sea “to support NATO allies and partners.”

Noting that the last time a naval vessel of this class entered the Black Sea in 2008, the Russian Defense Ministry further reiterated that the military presence of non-regional powers in the sea “does not facilitate regional stability,” according to the report.

Earlier on Tuesday, Russia’s Black Sea Fleet had announced that its Moskva cruiser would hold live-fire drills with other ships and military helicopters.

The development came as a short video emerged online showing the process of the Russian military’s monitoring of the US Coast Guard cutter’s movements in the Black Sea.

Also on Tuesday, online resources monitoring global airspace reported that a US RQ-4B Global Hawk drone and a British RC-135W reconnaissance aircraft were conducting flights along Russia’s Black Sea territorial waters for several hours, according to an RT report.

The report said however that such activities had not yet been confirmed by either US or Russian authorities.

US and NATO warships and military aircraft have had increasing presence in the Black Sea amid escalating tensions between members of the US-led military alliance and Russia in recent months.

Chief of the Russian military’s General Staff Valery Gerasimov emphasized in December 2020 that the activities of NATO warships in the Black, Baltic, and Barents Seas had reached new heights and that so far this year, three US destroyers and one cruiser have sailed in the Black Sea.

In recent weeks, Ukraine and its Western allies expressed concern about Russian troop build-ups along its border to conduct military drills.

Russia says the military deployments are in response to increased activity by NATO forces in the area. Moscow, however, ordered the withdrawal of most of the troops after the completion of the exercises.

Further commenting on the matter, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu clarified on Tuesday that Moscow had not withdrawn its forces along the Ukraine border due to alleged external pressure, insisting that Russia moved troops around on its own territory as it saw fit.

“The actions of the US and NATO in the European region to increase the combat readiness of troops and strengthen their forward presence is contributing to an increase in military danger,” Shoigu said.

Last week, Russia launched major military exercises in the Crimean Peninsula near the southern borders of Ukraine under the personal supervision of Shoigu. Around 10,000 ground troops and more than 40 warships took part in the Crimea exercises.

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One Type 45 destroyer armed with anti-aircraft missiles and an anti-submarine Type 23 frigate will peel off from the Royal Navy’s carrier task group in the Mediterranean and head through the Bosphorus into the Black Sea, said the report.

RAF F-35B Lightning stealth jets and Merlin submarine-hunting helicopters are to stand ready on the task group’s flag ship, the carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth, to back up the warships in the Black Sea, the report added.

The paper noted that the move was meant to demonstrate solidarity with Kiev and NATO allies in the region.

The move comes after US President Joe Biden decided to cancel the deployment of two American warships to the Black Sea last week for fear of escalating the crisis, according to the report.

Tensions have been on the rise in and over the Russian-speaking Donbass region of Ukraine, where Ukrainian troops and pro-Russia forces have been fighting since 2014, when the then Ukrainian territory of Crimea voted in a referendum to join Russia.

Kiev and its Western allies believe the reunification amounts to an annexation of the territory. They accuse Moscow of having a hand in the crisis. Russia denies the allegation.

Kiev and Moscow have since traded blame for a spike in violence in the Donbass region.

Meanwhile, a UK Ministry of Defense spokesman told the newspaper that the British government was working closely with Ukraine to monitor the situation.

“The UK and our international allies are unwavering in our support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity”, the newspaper quoted the spokesman as saying.

The UK also sent a British spy aircraft to the Black Sea region to monitor Russian forces on the Ukrainian border. The so-called Airseeker was deployed by the Royal Air Force (RAF) to the region to gather intelligence, although the RAF claimed that it had made the aircraft visible on commercial tracking services.

That also followed the deployment of the British RC-135 Rivet Joint on a similar mission along the Ukrainian border.

Macron urges ‘clear red lines’ with Russia amid buildup near Ukraine

Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron said the international community has to “define clear red lines with Russia,” calling for sanctions on Moscow in case of what he referred to as “unacceptable behavior.”

Speaking in an interview with the US network CBS, he added, “I think that sanctions are not sufficient in itself, in themselves, but sanctions are part of the package. I do prefer constructive dialogue, but to have a constructive and efficient dialogue, you need credibility.”

On Friday, Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel voiced their support for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, calling on Russia to rapidly withdraw its troops from the border region.

The United States and NATO have recently warned of Russia amassing military forces near the Ukrainian border and have dispatched military personnel and equipment to Ukraine, which is not a NATO member.Russia says it is using its own territory for defensive activity amid increased NATO presence near its borders.

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Speaking at the 39th meeting of the organization’s Foreign Ministers’ council in Baku, capital of term chair Azerbaijan, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu called on members to take active part in bloc’s activities and fulfil financial obligations.

“We will continue our joint efforts to transform our region into a zone of peace, stability and prosperity,” Cavusoglu said, Anadolu Agency reported.

He added that Turkey expects members to provide technical support for the working groups of the organization.

Citing progress in various projects on agriculture and trade as well as the functioning of BSEC, Cavusoglu thanked Ambassador Michael B. Christides, the Secretary General of the Permanent International Secretariat of the bloc, for his efforts and Azerbaijan for its term chairmanship.

He wished success for Bulgaria as the organization’s next term chair.

Headquartered in Istanbul, the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization was established in 1992 with the aim of acting in a spirit of friendship and good neighborliness and enhancing mutual respect and confidence, dialogue and cooperation among the member states.

The group has 12 members; Turkey, Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Moldova, Romania, Russia, Serbia, and Ukraine.

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