IN PHOTO: A Russian officer takes a picture of a Tu-95 bomber at a military airbase in Engels, some 900 km (559 miles) south of Moscow, August 7, 2008. Picture taken August 7, 2008.

IN PHOTO: A Russian officer takes a picture of a Tu-95 bomber at a military airbase in Engels, some 900 km (559 miles) south of Moscow, August 7, 2008. Picture taken August 7, 2008. Reuters/Stringer

NATO has expressed alarm over Russia’s dramatic increase of flights by its nuclear bombers. Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Moscow’s nuclear threats have become “deeply troubling and dangerous.”

Stoltenberg said Russia’s plans to send nuclear-capable missiles in Kanilingrad and its threat to deploy nuclear forces in Crimea would fundamentally “change the balance of security in Europe.” In a speech during his visit to Washington, the NATO secretary general criticised the behaviour of Russia in the past year.

“Russia’s recent use of nuclear rhetoric, exercises and operations are deeply troubling,” said Stoltenberg. He added that the Russian President Vladimir Putin’s admission that he considered placing the nuclear forces of Russia on alert during the annexation of Crimea.

NATO member countries have become concerned about Russia’s compliance with nuclear arms agreements and expanded flights by strategic bombers. Stoltenberg believes Russia has increased the number, scale and range of pro-active flights by nuclear-capable bombers, reports The Guardian.

He claimed Russian bomber flights covered Japan to Gibraltar, Crete to California and the Baltic sea to the Black Sea. Stoltenberg said Russia’s “nuclear sabre-rattling” is unjustified and dangerous.

Stoltenberg had slammed Russia for holding snap military exercises. According to the secretary general, Moscow had violated international agreements that require countries to share information in advance about planned drills and invite observers. He added that Russia will be conducting another snap military drill near Ukraine with 250 aircraft and 700 pieces of equipment.

Meanwhile, the defence ministers of the three Baltic states said they are considering the development of a joint air defence system to address security concerns over Russia’s activity in the region. The defence officials of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania had convened in Panevezys, a city in Lithuania, along with the Ukrainian defence minister.

Lithuanian Defence Minister Juozas Olekas said they were mulling the possibility of developing a medium-range air defence system to boost defence capabilities. He added that external threats like Russia’s intervention in Ukraine make Baltic states cooperate more, reports Defence News.

Since 2004, NATO has been watching over the skies in the three small Baltic states that do not have enough air power to monitor their own airspace. The three countries have been on high alert after Russia had annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014.

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