ByREUTERS

Russia on Tuesday accused the United States and NATO of engaging in "provocative activities" in the waters and airspace of the Black Sea, the Interfax news agency cited Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu as saying.

Shoigu was also quoted as saying that Kyiv was trying to destabilize the situation in Ukraine's eastern Donbass region, where Ukrainian troops have battled Russian-backed forces in a conflict that Kyiv says has killed 14,000 people since 2014.