Dec. 17 (UPI) — Russia deployed more than 10 fighter jets to the Crimean peninsula on Monday amid ongoing tensions with Ukraine, Russia’s Ministry of Defense said.
Russia deployed the Sukhoi SU-27 and SU-30 fighter jets to the peninsula, which Russia annexed from the Ukraine in 2014, as Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Ukraine is planning “a provocation” there before the end of the year.
Russia’s Ministry of Defense said the aircrafts would be deployed to and permanently stationed at the Belbek air base.
The deployment came after the Ukrainian navy shared a video of a member of InformNapalm, a volunteer community seeking to provide information about the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, unfurling a Ukrainian flag on the summit of a mountain in Russian-occupied Crimea.
Tensions flared between Russia and Ukraine late last month when Ukraine’s navy said Russia rammed a Ukrainian tugboat, and also fired on and seized three of its vessels and 24 sailors in the Sea of Azov.
Russia said the Ukrainian vessels were in its waters and blocked access to the Sea of Azov with a tanker.
The U.S. Department of Defense condemned Russia’s actions as an “unprovoked attack” and conducted an extraordinary flight over Ukraine intended “to reaffirm U.S. commitment to Ukraine and other partner nations” on Dec. 6.
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