MOSCOW, April 19 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Amid renewed tension in eastern Ukraine, Russia has sent 15 warships to the Black Sea for a manoeuvre.
They passed through the Kerch Strait on the Crimean peninsula on Saturday, the navy said, according to the Interfax news agency.
It was not initially said how long the exercises would last.
The United States had previously cancelled the deployment of two warships to the Black Sea following complaints from Russia, according to Turkish sources.
On Friday, the Russian Defence Ministry declared that certain sea areas in Crimea would be closed off for months because of the manoeuvres. However, shipping in the strait was not affected, it said.
The European Union, NATO and Ukraine criticized Russia’s actions. A senior EU official spoke of an “extremely worrying development.”
International concern is growing about an escalation of the conflict in eastern Ukraine because of Russian troop deployments not far from the Ukrainian border.
For almost seven years, parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions along the Russian border – collectively known as Donbas – have been controlled by separatists loyal to Moscow.
According to UN estimates, more than 13,000 people have been killed in the fighting. A peace plan agreed in 2015 with the held of Franco-German mediation is on hold. — NNN-AGENCIES