Russian Defence Minister Sergey Shoigu accused American nuclear-capable bombers of rehearsing nuclear strikes aimed at Russia. Shoigu claimed that a ‘significant intensification of activity from US strategic bomber aviation’ had occurred ‘near the borders of Russia’; over the past month ‘around 30 missions had flown near the borders of the Russian federation’ – a number around ‘two and a half times larger’ than what occurred in the same period last year. The Defence Minister added that 10 strategic bombers had performed these exercises with a minimum proximity of 20 km from the state border.
Shoigu presented these facts in a video conference with his Chinese counterpart – Wei Fenghe – saying that ‘Russo-Chinse coordination is becoming a stabilising factor in world affairs’ in a time when ‘geopolitical turbulence and the risk of conflict are growing’. Russia and China agreed to increase cooperation between their armed forces in light of this American provocation.