A warning has been issued by Swedish authorities to civilian maritime traffic on the Baltic Sea due to the Russian navy's military drills and missile tests this week.
Marie Hallerfelt, of the Swedish Maritime Administration, said Russian artillery exercises in three separate areas in the southern and south-eastern Baltic Sea means those regions will be temporarily dangerous to navigation from early Wednesday until late Friday.
It comes as Russia's foreign minister has accused Britain and the US of spreading "lies and disinformation" about the poisoning of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia.
The military drills in the Baltic Sea - which reportedly include firing missiles from Russian vessels - are taking place between Sweden, Poland and Latvia and come remarkably close to the southern Swedish city of Karlskrona, which hosts a key naval base.
Latvia's defence ministry last week summoned Russia's military attache to express its concern over the naval drill, calling it provocative and an unnecessary demonstration of force.
forces.net