Russian fleet tracks US destroyer in Black Sea

MOSCOW - The Russian Black Sea Fleet has begun to track the US guided-missile destroyer Porter, which entered the Black Sea on Sunday, the Russian Defense Ministry said.

"The Black Sea Fleet's forces have begun to track USS Porter (an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer), which entered the Black Sea at 19:45 local time (1645 GMT) on July 19," it said.

The US 6th Fleet said earlier in the day that USS Porter was headed to the Black Sea to participate in Sea Breeze-2020 drills with Ukraine.

The drills to be held from Monday to Sunday are expected to involve some 2,000 servicemen, 27 ships and 19 planes from nine countries, namely Bulgaria, Georgia, Spain, Norway, Romania, the United States, Turkey, France, and Ukraine, according to TASS news agency.