Russian military officials said they were tracking the U.S. moves.
“U.S. ships sail into the Black Sea periodically,” reads a story on Russia’s state-run TASS news agency. “The Russian Foreign Ministry has repeatedly noted that presence of ships in the Black Sea that belong to states outside of the region does not boost stability there.”
On Friday morning, the Russian military said it had launched its own series of naval exercises in the Black Sea, destroying mock air targets and practicing the use of electronic warfare jamming measures.
The dueling maneuvers come just days after President Biden had his first phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin. They also come amid an agreement by Washington and Moscow to extend the landmark New START nuclear arms treaty for another five years.