RUSSIA’S Defence Minister has ordered officials to prepare a “response” to US drone flights over the Black Sea, the ministry said today, in an apparent warning that Moscow may use force against reconnaissance aircraft.

The Russian Defence Ministry noted an “increased intensity” of US drones over the Black Sea, saying they “conduct intelligence and targeting for precision weapons supplied to the Ukrainian military by Western countries for strikes on Russian facilities.”

“It shows an increased involvement of the US and other Nato countries in the conflict in Ukraine on the side of the Kiev regime,” the ministry said in a statement.

It noted that “such flights significantly increase the probability of incidents involving Russian military aircraft, which increases the risk of direct confrontation between the alliance and the Russian Federation.”

“Nato members will bear responsibility for that,” it added.

The ministry said that Defence Minister Andrei Belousov had directed the General Staff to “make proposals on measures of operative response to provocations.”