Ukraine’s air force has conducted drills, including airstrike practice, on training grounds in the country’s south, according to the defense ministry on Tuesday.

It said in a statement that under the cover of MiG-29 and Su-27 fighters, Su-24M and Su-25 planes carried out simulated airstrikes and hit air and surface targets as if they were in the Black Sea.

Ukraine increased military drills in response to growing concern about Russian troop movements near Ukrainian borders, which Kyiv claims could pave the way for a sharp military escalation.