MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian fighter planes and ships practiced repelling air assaults on naval bases and responding with air strikes throughout navy drills within the Black Sea, Interfax reported on Wednesday, as neighbouring Ukraine additionally held fight workouts.
The drills come at a time of excessive stress over Ukraine, with Ukrainian and U.S. officers voicing issues a few attainable Russian assault on its southern neighbour, a suggestion the Kremlin has dismissed as false.
“About 10 plane crews and ships of the Black Sea fleet’s Novorossiysk naval base… took half on this fight coaching occasion,” Interfax cited Russia’s Black Sea fleet as saying.
Sukhoi fighter jets have been among the many planes rehearsing how to reply to enemy air assaults with coaching flights over Black Sea waters in cooperation with the Black Sea fleet, it stated.
Russia’s Black Sea Fleet relies in Crimea, which Moscow annexed from Ukraine in 2014. Kyiv needs Russia handy it again.
Ukraine, which has accused Russia of massing troops close by and says Belarus might ship migrants over its borders, on Wednesday launched an operation to strengthen its frontier, together with navy drills for anti-tank and airborne models.
(Reporting by Maxim Rodionov; Writing by Alexander Marrow; modifying by Mark Trevelyan)
