3 Russian naval fleets hold simultaneous drills

Three fleets of the Russian Navy hold military exercises simultaneously on Thursday, the Russian Defense Ministry said.

In the Black Sea, warships of the Black Sea Fleet carried out missile and artillery strikes, with the participation of a Bora-class air-cushioned ship and Invanovets-class cutters, Vyacheslav Trukhachev, a spokesman for the fleet, was quoted by RIA Novosti as saying.

A Su-24 bomber and Be-12 amphibian aircraft also took part in the drills, the spokesman added.

In the Barents Sea, the Northern Fleet's missile ship Iceberg launched sea-to-ground, sea-to-sea and sea-to-air artillery firings with Su-33 fighters as "enemy" targets, the fleet's spokesman Vadim Serga said.

Meanwhile, the Baltic Fleet's large landing ship Korolyov and minesweeper BT-212 carried out artillery strikes against sea and air targets, according to the fleet's press service.

The drills would be conducted both in the day and at night.

The military exercises are taking place as the United States and its NATO allies have launched joint drills in the Black Sea with six warships, including the U.S. guided missile cruiser Vicksburg and ships from Canada, Germany, Romania, Turkey and Italy.

Washington on Wednesday announced a non-lethal aid package to Ukraine, including drones and 30 armored and up to 200 unarmored Humvees.

Moreover, the White House said Monday that about 3,000 soldiers would be deployed to Eastern Europe for training exercises with forces from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania to reassure its European allies that are concerned about potential Russian aggression.

On Tuesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov slammed NATO for its increasing military activities near Russian borders, warning that Russia would react to that appropriately. Endi