US Denounces Russia's "Escalation" In The Black Sea

Russian state media have reported that Moscow intends to close parts of the Black Sea to foreign military and official vessels for six months.

The US State Department on Monday classified as an "unprovoked escalation" Russia's reported decision to limit the navigation of military vessels and foreign officials in three areas in the Black Sea, which could have an impact on access to Ukrainian ports.

Russian state media have reported that Moscow intends to close parts of the Black Sea to foreign military and official vessels for six months.

That move could affect access to Ukrainian ports through the Sea of   Azov, which is connected to the Black Sea by the Kerch Strait, at the eastern tip of the Crimean peninsula annexed by Russia in 2014.

"This represents yet another unprovoked escalation in Moscow's current campaign to undermine and destabilize Ukraine," State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a statement.

"This fact is particularly worrying amid credible reports of an increase in Russian troops in occupied Crimea and around Ukraine's borders, now at levels not seen since the Russian invasion in 2014," he added.

Moscow has deployed tens of thousands of troops along Ukraine's northern and eastern borders, as well as in annexed Crimea, prompting condemnation from the European Union, NATO and Washington.