Russia holds major drills in Crimea amid Ukraine tensions

Russian navy ships during navy drills in the Black Sea (Russian Defence Ministry Press Service via AP)

The Russian military has conducted massive drills in Crimea involving dozens of navy ships, hundreds of warplanes and thousands of troops in a show of force amid tensions with Ukraine.

The manoeuvres were described as the largest since Russia annexed the Black Sea peninsula from Ukraine in 2014 and threw its weight behind separatist insurgents in eastern Ukraine.