News of the military drill close to the Crimea border has angered the Kremlin which annexed the peninsula – and is responding by sending in its battleships to the Black Sea to counter act the NATO forces in the thousands building up on the Russian border

Angry Russia moves warships and warns of “nervous situation” as Ukraine conducts missile tests

December 2, 2016Nwo ReportLeave a commentGo to comments

Source: Mirror

Angry Russia has put its air defences on high alert – and moved its warships – warning of a “nervous situation” as Ukraine carries out two days of missile tests.

Ukraine’s military promised its drill – commencing today – would avoid the airspace over the annexed peninsula of Crimea, but they have already created tension before they start.

News of the tests has angered the Kremlin which has vowed to shoot down any missiles – and destroy their launchers on Ukrainian soil – if Kiev test-fired any missiles in the airspace near Crimea.

Its also began moving its battleships in response.

The disagreement marks a fresh escalation in tensions between the neighbours and one-time allies.

Relations collapsed after Russia seized Crimea and backed those pro-Russian separatists fighting in eastern Ukraine.

Volodymyr Kryzhanovsky, a Ukrainian military official, insisted the exercises – which are taking place in Ukraine’s southern Kherson region bordering Crimea – are being conducted in accordance with international law.

The exercises are due to take place at least 30km (18 miles) from Crimea’s airspace – “therefore it would be wrong to reproach Ukraine,” Kryzhanovsky told the 112 TV channel.

Moscow initially responded to the test plans by putting its land-based and ship-borne air defence forces in Crimea on higher alert.

Ukrainian OTR-21 Tochka-U mobile missile launch systems are expected to be used in the drill (Photo: Reuters)

A Russian military source accused Ukraine of trying to create a “nervous situation.”

Russia’s federal aviation agency Rosaviatsia said in a statement today that it had received new coordinates for the tests that meant the “danger zone reserved for missile launches does not now affect the air space over Russian territorial waters.”

Ukraine says the aim of the tests is to bolster its defence capabilities.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters yesterday that he did not know whether President Vladimir Putin had ordered the defence ministry to prepare a potential military response to the Ukrainian tests.

He was responding to a question about Ukrainian media reports which said that the Russian Defence Ministry had told Ukraine’s military envoy that Moscow would shoot down any missiles and destroy their launchers if Kiev test-fired missiles in the air space near Crimea.

“In the Kremlin we wouldn’t want to see any actions by the Ukrainian side that breached international law and that might create dangerous conditions for international flights over the territory of Russia and adjacent regions,” said Peskov.