Russian admiral frets over ‘provocative’ NATO drills

SEVEROMORSK, Russia (AP) — A top Russian admiral has complained about increased NATO military activities near the country’s borders, describing them as a threat to regional security. Adm. Alexander Moiseyev, the commander of Russia’s Northern Fleet, said that NATO navy ships’ presence in the Barents Sea and the Norwegian Sea have reached levels unseen since World War II. Speaking to reporters on board the Northern Fleet’s flagship, Moiseyev charged that NATO drills have edged closer to Russian borders and noted increasingly frequent flights by U.S. nuclear-capable strategic bombers. Ties between Russia and the West have plummeted to post-Cold War lows after the 2014 Russian annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea.