Nato will increase air force patrol flights and drone deployments in and around the Black Sea, warning that Russia’s threats against civilian ships and attacks on Ukraine’s ports have “created new risks for miscalculation and escalation”.
In recent days Russia has withdrawn from a UN-brokered deal to allow Ukrainian grain exports via the Black Sea, increased its bomb and missile strikes on the country’s ports and warned it would attack civilian merchant ships, in what western officials say is an attempt to cripple Ukraine’s agricultural industry and disrupt global food markets.
“Russia’s actions . . . pose substantial risks to the stability of the Black Sea region, which is of strategic importance to Nato,” said secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg. “Allies are stepping up support to Ukraine and increasing our vigilance. We remain ready to defend every inch of allied territory from any aggression.”