KIEV, Nov. 15 (Xinhua) -- U.S. amphibious command ship USS Mount Whitney is leaving the Black Sea after concluding maritime operations and exercises alongside the North Atlantic Treaty Organization allies and partners, the U.S. Navy said on Monday.
"The U.S. Sixth Fleet flagship Mount Whitney ... began its southbound transit from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean Sea," said the Command of the U.S. Naval Forces in Europe and Africa in a statement on Twitter.
The United States sent Mount Whitney to the Black Sea on Nov. 4. Last week, the vessel visited the port of Batumi, Georgia, and took part in passing exercises with the naval forces of Ukraine, Turkey and Romania.
On Nov. 7, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said that the presence of the U.S. vessel in the Black Sea is an attempt to test Russia's protection of its southern regions and Black Sea coast, according to Russian media. Enditem