NATO’s top military commander warned Wednesday that Russia’s "militarization" of the annexed Crimea region could be used by Moscow to exert control across the whole Black Sea region

NATO's top military commander warned Wednesday that Russia’s "militarization" of the annexed Crimea region could be used by Moscow to exert control across the whole Black Sea region.
  
"We are very concerned with the militarization of Crimea," US General Philip Breedlove told a press conference in Kiev. "The capabilities that are being installed in Crimea will bring an effect on almost the entire Black Sea."
  
Breedlove, the commander of American forces in Europe, said that cruise and surface-to-air missiles installed on the peninsula, which Russia seized from Ukraine in March, would be "able to exert influence" over the strategic region.
  
He said that the US-led alliance was "watching for indications" amid fears over the possibility that Russia could move any of its nuclear arsenal to Crimea.
  
Russia's defence ministry said Wednesday that it had deployed a batch of 14 military jets to Crimea, as part of a squadron of 30 that will be stationed on the peninsula.
  
Breedlove was in Kiev for high-level talks with Ukraine's leaders over the crisis.