© Reuters/Bogdan CristelA view of the destroyer USS Donald Cook after it arrived in the Black Sea port of Constanta April 14, 2014.
"On September 7, 2014, the crew of two aircraft, an Su-24 and an An-26 from the Russian Air Force, successfully completed planned flights over neutral waters of the Black Sea in the area of the state borders of the Russian Federation," Defense Ministry spokesman Major-General Igor Konashenkov said, RIA Novosti news agency reported.
"The Russian Air Force planes' flight path ran through a region where a ship from the Canadian Navy, the Toronto, was located, but did not approach the foreign warship," he added.
The flights took place Sunday, and immediately triggered an official online statement from the Canadian Ministry of National Defense, which announced that Russia conducted "unnecessarily provocative" actions that "risk escalating tensions even further." He noted, however, that those actions"did not in any way pose a threat to the Canadian ship."
The incident comes after the NATO summit in Wales on September 4-5, where member states agreed to expand the alliance's infrastructure in Eastern Europe.
Russia's NATO envoy, Aleksandr Grushko, commented on the move that NATO used the crisis in Ukraine as a pretext to step up its military presence near Russian borders. Grushko described the alliance's role in the Ukrainian conflict as "extremely destructive."
After the Crimea joined Russia following a referendum, NATO boosted its naval presence in the Black Sea and stepped up air patrols over the Baltic states.
The vessel HMCS Toronto, involved in the latest incident, was deployed to the Black Sea as part of a NATO mission to the region.
I can't believe the extent to which the global oligarchs are willing to go to start another war. I was under the impression they had all agreed on limited, controllable wars, not all-out world wars. Some of the world's most intelligent psychopaths are involved in the strategizing to force Russia into a military response, having failed to force Russian subservience. And yet, like typical psychopaths, they simply cannot see beyond their fantasies and couldn't give a hoot about the health and safety of the planet's citizens.
My parents grew up in the post-war anti-communist era, where they were constantly bombarded with anti-"red menace" propaganda. I grew up in the 70s/80s, when the doomsday clock sat at one minute to midnight for a dangerous long while. The Reagan years were terrifying for a teenager. I can't imagine how horrific the present era must be for today's youth. It's no wonder so many are tuning out, becoming video game, WWW, instant messaging and social media zombies. While they're playing directly into the hands of those who benefit from their self-imposed exile, I completely forgive those who simply cannot carry on witnessing the horrors of this time.