Russian warships begin large-scale live fire drills in Black Sea -Ifax

Around 20 Russian warships began large-scale live-fire exercises in the Black Sea on Monday, the Interfax news agency cited the Russian navy as saying, as Ukraine conducted joint military drills with the United States.

The joint military drills in western Ukraine this week come days after Belarus and Russia staged large-scale exercises that concerned neighboring countries.

Kyiv's relations with Moscow sharply deteriorated in 2014 after Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine and backed pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine's Donbas region. The seven-year conflict with separatists killed more than 13,000 people.