Russia fires cruise missile test from sea of Japan

The drill also involved covert movement and support from military ships, aircraft and drones, the ministry said in a statement.

Japan lays claim to the Russian-held southern Kuril islands in the nearby Sea of Okhotsk, which Tokyo refers to as the Northern Territories in a territorial row dating from the end of World War Two, when Soviet troops seized them from Japan.

The dispute has prevented the two countries from signing a formal peace treaty.