Kyiv launches Black Sea missile tests:
Ukraine says it has started two days of missile tests in the Black Sea, as Russia reportedly put its air defense forces on high alert on the annexed Crimean Peninsula.
Military spokesman Volodymyr Kryzhanovsky said on December 1 that the tests near Crimea are being held in accordance with international law.
"Everything is going according to plan," Kryzhanovsky said. "There has been no reaction from the Russian Federation. The Ukrainian military is ready for any scenario."
As Kyiv prepares Black Sea missile tests, Russia on high alert:
Ukraine is due to start two days of missile tests in its southern Kherson region, as Russia reportedly put its air-defense forces on high alert on the annexed Crimean Peninsula.
Ukrainian officials said the planned tests on December 1-2 were legal and would be conducted in line with international treaties and obligations.
"We will continue to strengthen the defense capability of our nation and continue missile tests and training," Ukrainian defense chief Oleksander Turchynov said ahead of the exercises.
Kyiv issued a warning earlier this week for aircraft to avoid the northern part of the Black Sea where the tests would be conducted.
Russian news agencies, meanwhile, quoted Defense Ministry officials in Moscow as saying land-based and ship-based air defenses in Crimea had been ordered on to higher alert.
The tests are a "new large-scale provocation" aimed at "escalating the conflict between Ukraine and Russia," Russia's Foreign Ministry said on November 30.
Home to the Russian Black Sea Fleet, the Crimean Peninsula was annexed by Russia in March 2014, a move not recognized by nearly all United Nations member states.
The tests were a "new large-scale provocation" aimed at "escalating the conflict between Ukraine and Russia," a spokeswoman for Russia's Foreign Ministry said on November 30.
In September, Russia held large-scale war games across its entire southern military district, including, for the first time, Crimea. (Interfax, Reuters, TASS)