Russia has conducted a series of air defense and anti-ship military drills in the Black Sea amid protests toward the passage of two U.S. warships through a body of water at the center of tensions between the two nations.
The Russian Armed Forces’ Southern Military District announced Tuesday that crews operating Bal and Bastion coastal anti-ship systems conducted simulated launches as part of “an exercise to destroy a mock enemy surface ship in the Black Sea.”
The maneuvers were conducted from camouflaged positions on Crimea, a region annexed by Russia after an internationally disputed referendum held amid a political uprising in Ukraine in 2014. The peninsula has also long hosted the headquarters of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, which also held a training session on Tuesday.
Source: NewsWeek
