Russian Tupolev Tu-95 turboprop-powered strategic bombers fly above the Kremlin in Moscow, on May 7, 2014, during a rehearsal of the Victory Day parade.
(CNN) -- Russia plans to send long-range bombers to patrol the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean, the nation's defense minister said, amid escalating tensions with the West over Ukraine.
The patrols would bring the flights close to the United States' territorial waters. In September, the U.S. intercepted six Russian planes, including fighter jets, near airspace off Alaska, officials said.
The plan to send the long-range bombers is in response to a growing international resentment against Russia, defense minister Sergey Shoigu said Wednesday.
Putin has Russia $730 billion war machine on disposal.
In addition, he said, Russia will boost its security in Crimea, the region it annexed from Ukraine earlier this year.
"In many respects, this is connected with the situation in Ukraine, with fomentation of anti-Russian moods on the part of NATO and reinforcement of foreign military presence next to our border," Shoigu said.
"Under these conditions, the formation of full-fledged and self-sufficient forces on the Crimean peninsula is a priority task."
Shoigu said Russian long-range bombers will conduct flights along the Russian border and over the Arctic Ocean.
"In the current situation we have to maintain military presence in the western Atlantic and eastern Pacific, as well as the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico," he said. "Due to that, as part of the drills, Russian long-range bombers will conduct flights along Russian borders and over the Arctic Ocean."
During the Cold War era, Russian aircraft regularly patrolled near the U.S. maritime borders, but those flights were largely cut back after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.
Russian troops seized the Crimean peninsula in March, emboldening pro-Russia separatists who have clashed with Ukrainian troops in the eastern part of the country. The conflict has left thousands dead and frozen ties between Russia and the West.
Russian Tupolev Tu-22M supersonic strategic bombers fly above the Kremlin in Moscow, on May 7, 2014
The announcement comes the same day NATO commander Gen. Phillip Breedlove said Russia is sending tanks, artillery, air defense systems and troops into Ukraine.
A day earlier, Breedlove said Russia has moved "forces that are capable of being nuclear" into Crimea. The region borders southeastern Ukraine, into which Russian troops have allegedly moved.
Pro-Russia rebels claim control of parts of southeastern Ukraine despite a push by Ukrainian forces to defeat them.
The two sides signed a ceasefire deal in September, raising hopes of an end to the conflict, but it still rages on.
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