MOSCOW. July 21 (Interfax) - The Russian Black Sea Fleet conducted an exercise that focused on isolated a district temporarily closed to navigation, the Russian Defense Ministry said.
"During a joint exercise, the fleet's ships and aircraft practiced measures to isolate a district temporarily closed to navigation and simulated a set of operations to stop an intruding vessel," the ministry said in a statement.
Training launches of anti-ship cruise missiles were carried out during the drills, it said.
"In line with the combat training plan of the Black Sea Fleet's forces, the crew of the Ivanovets missile boat fired anti-ship cruise missiles at a target simulating a vessel at a military training range in the northwestern part of the Black Sea," the ministry said.
"Telemetry and video control data from unmanned aerial vehicles confirmed the success of the exercise. The target was destroyed as a result of the missile strike," it said.
The Defense Ministry also released video footage that shows the launch of a cruise missile from the ship and the destruction of the training target.
A Black Sea Fleet officer said in the ministry's video that the drills involved a strike group made up of two missile boats.
"The combat exercise during the drills was carried out with the use of cruise missile weapons. The missile launch was successful. The mock enemy was eliminated," the officer said.
The Russian Defense Ministry said earlier that starting from midnight Moscow time on July 20 it would consider all vessels heading to Ukrainian ports as potentially carrying military cargo. This decision was adopted in light of the termination of the grain deal and the closure of the humanitarian corridor in the Black Sea, the Russian military said.