US stealth fighters visit Estonia amid Russia tensions
Two of the US Air Force's most advanced war aircraft, F-22 Raptor stealth fighters, have made an unusual visit to Estonia, amid rising tensions between the United States and Russia.
CNN reported on Monday that Friday's visit of the F-22s helped reassure Estonia bordering Russia, which took over Crimea from Ukraine in early 2014.
"Over the past year and a half we've seen the security situation in Europe change quite fundamentally," Estonian Defense Minister Sven Mikser said.
"The more aggressive and provocative behavior by our eastern neighbor Russia has made it necessary for ... the NATO alliance to readjust," he added.
The visit comes as the United States and Russia are at loggerheads over the crisis in Ukraine.
Relations between Washington and Moscow are at their lowest point since the end of the Cold War in 1991, largely due to the Ukraine crisis.
The ties deteriorated after US-backed forces ousted Ukraine’s elected president, Viktor Yanukovych, in February 2014.
The US and its allies accuse Moscow of sending troops into eastern Ukraine in support of the pro-Russian forces. Moscow has long denied involvement in Ukraine's crisis.
Moscow says Washington is responsible for the escalating tension in Ukraine through sending arms in support of the Ukrainian army.
The US-led military buildup in NATO member states bordering Russia has drawn strong objections from Moscow, followed by warnings of a well-measured response.
The US military deployed hundreds of tanks and thousands of troops to the Baltic states of Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania in order to deter what it described as “Russian aggression.”
The Baltic states, which were formerly ruled by the ex-Soviet Union, joined NATO and the European Union in 2004.
US President Barack Obama travelled to Estonia last year to meet with the leaders of Baltic states.
European NATO allies have sent hundreds of troops for exercises to the Baltic region in recent months. The alliance has also boosted its air force presence in the region.
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