Russia’s foreign ministry expressed concern about ongoing U.S.-South Korea military drills on Wednesday, calling the first-large scale exercises in years “counterproductive and dangerous” in an implicit endorsement of North Korea’s position.

In an official statement, Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Maria Zakharova also blamed the sending of “propaganda materials” into North Korea for exacerbating tensions, in an apparent reference to balloon launches by South Korean activists that the DPRK has blamed for spreading COVID-19 into the country. 

“We are concerned about the situation unfolding on the Korean Peninsula, which has recently escalated in connection with the resumption of