Russian navy performed a live fire “exercise” in the northwestern Black Sea with anti-ship cruise missiles after the Kremlin announced it would consider ships transiting to Ukraine via maritime as potential military targets.
Russia’s navy carried out a live fire “exercise” in the Black Sea. Moscow’s defense ministry said Friday, days after the Kremlin declared it would consider ships traveling to Ukraine through the waterway potential military targets.
A missile boat from Moscow’s Black Sea Fleet “carried out live firing of anti-ship cruise missiles at the target ship” in the northwestern part of the Black Sea, Russia’s defense ministry said on Telegram.
“The target ship was destroyed as a result of a missile strike,” it said.
Ships and fleet aviation had also “worked out actions to isolate the area temporarily closed to navigation and also carried out a set of measures to detain the offending ship,” it added.
It did not specify precisely where the exercise had taken place.
After pulling out of a deal facilitating the safe grain shipments from Ukraine, the Kremlin said Wednesday it would consider cargo ships destined for Ukraine via the Black Sea potential military targets.
Moscow on Wednesday banned traffic on the northwestern and southeastern parts of the sea.
Ukraine also said it had prohibited navigation on “the northeastern part of the Black Sea and the Kerch Strait” near Crimea, making navigation in most of the Black Sea perilous for vessels.
Ukraine has previously said it would be ready to continue with grain exports from its southern ports following Moscow’s exit from the deal.
It has called on the UN and neighboring countries to secure safe cargo passage through joint patrols.
Russia and China’s navies also carried out a joint exercise in the Sea of Japan, Russia’s TASS news agency on Friday quoted the defense ministry as saying.
“During joint exercises, the fighters destroyed a floating mine mock-up and practiced repelling an attack coming from a high-speed small target,” TASS said.
Miroslava Salazar with AFP
