The Russian defence minister Andrei Belousov ordered the army’s General Staff on Friday to make proposals for how to deal immediately with “provocations” by U.S. drones that operate over the Black Sea.

In a press release, the ministry stated that it was aware of increased activity from U.S. drones in the area. The drones were said to be conducting reconaissances and gathering information on targeting for high precision Western weapons that Ukraine uses to strike Russian installations.

The defence ministry stated that "this shows the growing involvement of the United States, NATO and other countries in the conflict between Ukraine and the Kyiv government."

"Such flights increase the likelihood of airspace accidents with Russian aircraft. This increases the risk for a direct conflict between the (NATO alliance) and the Russian Federation."

NATO nations would be held responsible for such incidents.

The statement didn't mention Crimea, which is the Black Sea region that Moscow annexed from Ukraine in 2014 Ukrainian forces have repeatedly attacked Russian military bases in Crimea, including using Western missiles. Reporting and Editing by Andrew Osborn