iStock/Thinkstock(MOSCOW) — In a further revival of Cold War-like tensions, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu announced Wednesday that his air force will conduct regular air patrols that will stretch from the Arctic Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico.
Shoigu explained that these missions, which had been suspended since the former Soviet Union collapsed, are necessary “to ensure a military presence in the western Atlantic and eastern Pacific oceans, the waters of the Caribbean basin and the Gulf of Mexico.”
Earlier this year, Shoigu said Russia planned military bases in Cuba, Venezuela, Vietnam, the Seychelles and Nicaragua, all allies of the Kremlin.
Wednesday’s announcement came as NATO said there were “unusual” increases of Russian military jets flying missions over European airspace.
At the same time, NATO accused Moscow of sending more soldiers and military hardware into eastern Ukraine, a charge that Russia refuted.
A tenuous ceasefire agreed by Kiev and separatists forces has done little to stop the fighting nor has it apparently stopped Russia from assisting pro-Moscow sympathizers in the eastern Ukrainian strongholds of Donetsk and Luhansk.
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