Russian Rocket Tests Force Partial Closing of Baltic Sea, Airspace

FILE PHOTO: Russian navy coastal minesweepers and anti-submarine warfare corvettes are anchored in a bay of the Russian fleet base in Baltiysk in Kaliningrad region, Russia, Jul.19, 2015. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov/File Photo

Russia began testing missiles with live munitions in the Baltic Sea on April 4, alarming Latvia, a member of NATO, which says the drills have forced it to partly shut down Baltic commercial airspace.

The Russian defense ministry said on April 2 that its Baltic Fleet, based in its European exclave of Kaliningrad, was preparing for routine training in the Baltic Sea, including live fire drills to practice hitting air and sea targets.