Russian navy rehearses firing rockets at ships in Black Sea after warning to Ukraine

A still image from a video, released by Russia's Defence Ministry, shows what it said to be the guided missile ship Ivanovets during drills in the Black Sea, in this image taken from video released July 21, 2023. Russian Defence Ministry/Handout via REUTERS 


MOSCOW (Reuters) -Russia's Defence Ministry said on Friday that its Black Sea Fleet had practised firing rockets at surface targets in a live fire exercise, two days after it warned that ships heading to Ukraine's Black Sea ports could be considered military targets.

Russia issued its warning earlier this week after it quit the Black Sea grain deal on Monday, revoking security guarantees for ships carrying Ukrainian grain.