Russia protests over Japan's firing of HIMARS in exercise with U.S

FILE PHOTO: Military members from 18 countries listen to a lecture as U.S. Marine Corps' M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) and Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF)'s Type 12 Surface-to-Ship Missile (12SSM) unit are displayed during the Pacific Amphibious Leaders Symposium 2022 (PALS22) at JGSDF Kisarazu base in Kisarazu, east of Tokyo, Japan June 16, 2022. REUTERS/Issei Kato

LONDON (Reuters) - Russia said it had protested to the Japanese embassy on Wednesday over joint Japan-U.S. military exercises this week in which it said HIMARS rocket systems were fired close to Russia's borders.

"We consider the military exercises that took place as a challenge to ensuring the security of the Far Eastern region of our country and insist on the immediate cessation of such actions," the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement.