MOSCOW – Russia’s Black Sea naval forces practised destroying enemy targets on Tuesday as Moscow bristled at the presence of two US warships in the area.
President Vladimir Putin said on Monday that Russian forces could observe the USS Mount Whitney navy command ship “through binoculars or in the crosshairs of its … defence systems” and complained about NATO activity near Russia’s borders, according to Reuters.
On Tuesday, the Black Sea fleet said its ships had rehearsed destroying enemy targets and that their air defence systems had been put on alert at its bases in Novorossiysk and on annexed Crimea, the Interfax news agency reported.
“They… destroyed airborne targets of a mock enemy with anti-aircraft missile weapons and artillery,” it said in a statement.
The US Navy said on Monday that the USS Mount Whitney had arrived in Istanbul and that it would soon join forces with other ships in the Black Sea.
“Following this port visit, Mount Whitney will join USS Porter (DDG 78) in the Black Sea to further enhance collaboration between US and NATO forces at sea,” the US Navy said in a statement.
The Kremlin on Tuesday rejected as a “low-quality fake” a US media report about a Russian military buildup near Ukraine, although it said it was up to Moscow where it moved troops around on its territory.
