NEW DELHI, 12 February 2022, (TON): India is getting set to kick off its largest-ever multi-nation naval exercise later this month, which will witness participation from both the US and Russia amidst escalating tensions between them over Ukraine.

The 'Milan' exercise, to be conducted off Visakhapatnam from February 25 to March 4, will see top naval delegations from around 40 of the over 45 countries invited, ranging from the US, Australia, UK, Japan, South Korea, France and Israel to Russia, Iran, UAE, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Oman.

At least 14-15 of these countries have already confirmed they will also be sending warships or aircraft for the exercise, sources said on Friday.

While the US will be deploying USS Port Royal, a Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser, Russia is yet to confirm whether it will also be sending a warship.

US secretary of state Antony Blinken, incidentally, on Friday warned that Russia could invade Ukraine “any time”, amassing as it is more soldiers on the border.

India has struck a fine strategic balance between the US and Russia for decades, but there are deepening concerns over the tightening clinch between Moscow and Beijing over the last few years.