Russia closely follows US, NATO’s military activities in Black Sea
(VOVWORLD) - The US warships and NATO reconnaissance aircraft have moved their activity to northwestern Black Sea, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Saturday.
 The USS Mount Whitney of the US Navy during the NATO-led military exercise Trident Juncture on November 2, 2018 at Norwegian sea outside Trondheim, Norway (Archive photo: AFP/VNA)
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According to the statement, a U-2S strategic reconnaissance aircraft of the US Air Forces conducted a reconnaissance flight from Ukrainian airspace along the Russian border.
The Ministry added that the radar systems of the Russian Aerospace Forces and the Black Sea Fleet have spotted and tracked four flights of NATO members’ reconnaissance aircraft in the airspace over the Black Sea region in the past 24 hours.
The same day, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry said in a statement that Ukrainian Navy held a passing exercise (PASSEX) in the Black Sea with the naval forces of NATO member states, namely the US, Turkey, and Romania.
According to the Ukrainian Defense Ministry, the main goal of the naval drills is to work out the interaction of the multinational tactical group in line with the NATO standards and increase the level of interoperability between the participating naval forces.