Ukraine plans missile tests, Russia responds by sending warships to the Black Sea

Ukraine has begun two days of missile tests near Crimea and it has angered Russia in a fresh escalation of tensions between the two countries. Russia has retaliated by putting its air defence forces on high alert and deploying warships in the Black Sea.
This has been reported in dailymail.co.uk dated 1 Dcember 2016.

It may be recalled that relations between the one-time allies had collapsed in 2014 when Russia seized Crimea and backed pro-Russian separatists fighting in eastern Ukraine.
Regarding the present escalation of tension is attributed to Ukraine trying to bolster its defence capabilities and testing S-300 medium-range surface-to-air missiles. As the head of the Ukrainian military's southern branch press-service has explained - the exercise is to gain experience in using these anti-aircraft missile systems and to check the quality of the rockets. These rockets had been repaired. Another reason is to improve the skills of the anti-aircraft missile troop units. He has added that the tests are being carried out in accordance with international law.
It seems Russian President Vladimir Putin has deployed 55,000 troops on the Ukrainian border in Russia's latest muscle-flexing exercise. This sudden influx of feet on the ground adds to up to 7,500 Russian soldiers already stationed in Ukraine. This has prompted fears of an invasion.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org


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