President Vladimir Putin on Friday signed a revised version of Russia’s military doctrine that names “NATO's military buildup” and expansion in Eastern Europe as the main external threats to the country’s security, according to a Kremlin statement.

Russia's Security Council said after a meeting last week that the new military doctrine was necessary due to "the emergence of new threats for Russia, which became evident in the situation in Ukraine and around it and the events in Northern Africa, Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan."

"Despite a decreased likelihood of a large-scale war against Russia, some security threats continue to grow," the doctrine states.

Another noteworthy point in the doctrine is that it sets a new military goal: the protection of national interests in the Arctic.

Russian military doctrine mentions activities aimed at toppling the government and "attempts to influence by spreading info" as threats. — Leonid Ragozin (@leonidragozin) December 26, 2014

The new doctrine comes days after neighboring Ukraine canceled its non-aligned status, allowing it to work toward NATO membership. It is unlikely, however, that Ukraine will meet the technical criteria for accession to NATO anytime soon, Ukrainian officials and experts have said.

Russia expressed outrage over Ukraine's decision, threatening to deepen the worst East-West crisis since the Cold War. Moscow said on Wednesday that NATO was turning Ukraine into a "frontline of confrontation."

URGENT: #Ukraine's accession to alliance will bring #Russia-#NATO relations to complete collapse - Russian Defense Ministry — Sputnik (@SputnikInt) December 24, 2014

NATO has bolstered its military presence in Eastern Europe this year as evidence emerged showing Russian military forces covertly operating in eastern Ukraine. The U.S. and European Union say the Kremlin has smuggled weapons into the war-torn Donetsk and Luhansk regions, and sent troops to train pro-Russian separatist militias. Moscow has denied involvement in the conflict, which so far has killed over 4,600 people since April.

An amored personnel carrier (APC) rolls on November 12, 2014 on a main road in rebel-territory near the village of Torez, east of Donetsk, in eastern Ukraine. Image: MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP/Getty Images)

Russia's new doctrine also defines modern warfare as a "complex application of military, political, economic, information and other non-military means... applying indirect and asymmetric means of action." In other words, all the trappings of the conflict in eastern Ukraine.

Meanwhile, Russia's air force has also stepped up drills in international airspace close to NATO states. The number of Russian planes intercepted so far this year tops 100, "about three times as much as the total number of intercepts the whole of last year," NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said last month.

Moscow’s intervention in Ukraine, as well as the annexation of Crimea in March, has led to crippling sanctions from the U.S. and EU. As a result, Russia has found itself embroiled in the country's worst economic crisis in Putin’s 15 years in power.