In the wake of NATO military exercises near Russia's borders, Russian President Vladimir Putin stressed today the importance of strengthening the country's air defenses.

During a meeting with military officials and arms manufacturers in the southern Russian city of Sochi, Putin addressed the deployment of NATO's US-led missile defense components in Eastern Europe and the increasingly frequent missions by NATO ships near Russian waters in the Baltic and Black Seas.

“Even now, a US warship has entered the Black Sea, and we can see it in binoculars or crosshairs of our defense systems,” he said in a reference to the USS Mount Whitney, the flagship of the US 6th Fleet deployed to the Black Sea.

Putin added that modern Russian air defense systems should be able to detect ballistic and hypersonic missiles of all kinds and destroy them at any point during their flight path.

He called for improving the development of naval aviation and equipping it with efficient destruction systems, taking into consideration the capabilities of foreign navies.

Last month, after NATO withdrew the accreditation of eight Russian officials to its Brussels headquarters, claiming they were secretly working for Russian intelligence, Russia halted its mission at NATO and ordered the closure of the alliance's Moscow office.