The UK on Friday pledged to boost defence of the Baltic states to deter a "more assertive" Russia as the British navy held its largest drills in the Baltic region, which includes a Russian territory, in more than a century.

Defence Secretary Penny Mordaunt said the British-led Joint Expeditionary Force, a rapid response unit, has reached a "new scale" in the exercise that included nearly 4,000 people and 44 vessels from nine nations.

Mordaunt called the exercise "the largest Royal Navy deployment in the Baltic for more than a hundred years", speaking to reporters aboard a British warship in the Lithuanian port of Klaipeda, which is just a stone's throw from the militarised Russian exclave of Kaliningrad.

The exercise was meant to reassure eastern flank NATO allies and to demonstrate that they are "aligned and ready".

"Russia is becoming more assertive, we see her deploying more forces and new weapons, and we can imagine scenarios that may play out in the future," Mordaunt said.

"So it is important and right that we stand together with our allies."

In a separate interview with the Baltic News Service, Mordaunt said Britain wanted "to do more" to "build security and resilience in the Baltic states and the region", including exercises and regular patrols, but declined to elaborate.

The British defence secretary's visit to Lithuania, a vocal critic of Russia, came on the same day as outgoing British Prime Minister Theresa May met Russian leader Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Japan.

May told Putin that normal relations will not be restored until Moscow ends its "irresponsible and destabilising" activity, according to a Downing Street spokesperson.

Alongside Lithuania, another seven northern European nations are part of the Joint Expeditionary Force, including fellow Baltic states Latvia and Estonia and non-NATO member Sweden.

U.S. Navy prepares for 'Sea Breeze 2019' naval exercises in Ukraine
Washington (UPI) Jun 28, 2019 - A 19-nation naval exercise hosted by Ukraine begins on Monday, and the U.S. Navy's Sixth Fleet announced its participation this week.

Sea Breeze 2019, which has been held annually since 1997, is a multinational maritime exercise with land, sea and air components. Its intent is to "build combined capability and capacity to ensure maritime regional security and foster stronger friendships among partnering nations," the Navy said in a statement this week.

Ukraine and the United States will host the 12-day event, meant to enhance interoperability and capabilities among participating forces. Field training exercises, with a focus on protecting critical infrastructure, force protection, and maritime security operations, will be performed.

Bulgaria, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, France, Georgia, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Norway, Poland, Romania, Sweden, Turkey, Ukraine, the United Kingdom and the United States will participate in the event, which will bring together 32 ships, 24 aircraft and over 3,000 troops.

"It is assumed that international exercises will take place in the northwestern part of the Black Sea, in Mykolaiv, Kherson and Odessa regions," the Ukrainian Defense Ministry said in a statement.

The exercise will also include a simulation of hostile forces blocking the Danube River, which will involve the Ukrainian Border Guard Service to escort civilian vessels from the Danube to the Black Sea. Border guard services of Ukraine, Georgia and Romania will also patrol the river. The river element is new to the exercises this year.

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