RUSSIA has defended army manoeuvres along its western border as a response to Defender Europe 2021, a huge Nato military exercise currently taking place in eastern Europe.

Defence Minister Sergey Shoigu said the drills, which have been condemned as a threat by Ukraine as well as the US and Britain, were “a response to the [Nato] alliance’s military activities threatening Russia.”

The US-led war games began last month and run until June. Defender Europe 2021 involves 28,000 troops from 27 countries carrying out drills in 12 countries, including Romania, Bulgaria, Ukraine and Lithuania. Ukrainian diplomat Alexey Arestovich described the exercises this month as a direct confrontation with Russia: “The scenario is that from the Baltic sea to the Black Sea, we are practising for, well, let’s put it directly, the war with Russia,” he said.

US President Joe Biden called on Russia to “de-escalate tensions” in a phone call with Russia’s Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, but the US has not indicated any willingness to scale back its exercises, dispatching two warships to the Black Sea today and tomorrow and saying they would stay there until May 4 and 5.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said the naval deployment was openly provocative, adding that “American ships have absolutely nothing to do near our shores.

“They are testing our strength and playing on our nerves,” he said. “Seeing itself as the Queen of the Seas, the US should realise that the risk of incidents is high.”