TOKYO: Russia’s Defense Ministry said Thursday that it has conducted an anti-ship missile drill during the ongoing emergency inspection of its Pacific Fleet’s combat readiness.

The Moskit supersonic cruise missile, developed in the Soviet era, was fired from a missile boat in the Sea of Okhotsk and hit the target about 70 kilometers away, according to the ministry’s statement posted online.

In late March, the Russian fleet launched the Moskit missile from two boats in the Sea of Japan as a US nuclear-powered aircraft carrier arrived in Busan, South Korea.

The launches were apparently intended to send a warning to the Japan-US and US-South Korea alliances.

JIJI Press