 Russia's Defense Ministry said on April 19 that eight of its long-range bombers flew over neutral waters in the Sea of Okhotsk and Sea of Japan. The aircraft provided air support to the forces of the Russian Pacific Fleet, the ministry said. A Pacific Fleet task force including a corvette and smaller anti-submarine ships held firing drills in the Sea of Japan on April 18, the ministry also said in an earlier statement. The training sorties and drills are part of a snap review of the Russian forces in the Pacific Ordered by President Vladimir Putin which started on April 14 and is set to last until April 22. Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said on April 17 that Tokyo had lodged a protest with Russia over its military exercises around disputed islands near Japan's Hokkaido.