Russia's Pacific Fleet begins week-long naval exercises in the Far East amid the war in Ukraine

Russian naval forces begin series of Pacific exercises

photo_camera REUTERS - The Russian ship Moskva in Sevastopol on 10 May 2013.

On Friday, the Russian Ministry of Defence announced in a statement the start of a series of naval exercises by the Pacific Fleet, based in Vladivostok. The exercises will take place in the Sea of Japan and the Sea of Okhotsk and will involve more than 40 warships and support vessels, as well as up to 20 aircraft, Moscow announced. 

"The control ship Marshal Krylov, the frigate Marshal Shaposhnikov, large anti-submarine vessels and corvettes, small anti-submarine vessels, minesweepers, missile launchers and support vessels are operating in the designated areas," the statement continues.

In these exercises, which will last until 10 June, Russian naval forces will conduct submarine search for a simulated enemy, work on organising air defence for tactical groups of ships, organise Fleet logistics and conduct combat training firings against surface and air targets, according to the ministry. 

moskva

After leaving their areas of concentration, the statement continued, the naval forces are said to have carried out various tasks, including "practical actions to overcome maritime areas with mine danger and artillery firing against floating mine models that pose a risk to civilian shipping".

Rising tensions in the Far East

Incidents and misunderstandings between the Russian navy and US naval forces have occurred regularly in recent years, while the relationship between Moscow and Washington has continued to deteriorate. 

At the same time, tensions with Japan over the Kuril Islands, located in the area where the Kremlin is conducting its naval exercises, have been growing. Moscow conquered this archipelago during World War II, but Japan has since claimed the four southernmost islands, a source of bilateral disagreement over which the two countries have yet to formally reach a peace agreement. 

Russia recently withdrew from peace talks with Japan after it joined international sanctions against the Kremlin over its invasion of Ukraine, and Tokyo has come to regard the islands as "illegally occupied by Russia". 

atalayar_putin mar negro

Pacific Fleet in Ukraine invasion

Moscow reportedly used several of the Pacific Fleet's elements in the invasion, including the deployment of the fleet's flagship Varyag in the Mediterranean, as well as the anti-submarine vessel Admiral Tributs and the oil tanker Boris Butoma, complicating a potential NATO deployment. 

For the time being, however, neither these ships nor other naval elements of the Pacific Fleet will be able to actively participate in operations given Turkey's closure of the Straits at the start of the invasion, preventing military forces from accessing the Black Sea by sea. 

But the Kremlin is using naval infantry associated with the Fleet, which is actively participating in the fighting on the ground. In March, Vladimir Putin highlighted the actions of these troops by awarding one of their two brigades, the 155th Naval Infantry Brigade of the Pacific Fleet, the honorary title of "Guard" for its "special merits, heroism and courage shown in defending the Motherland and protecting the sovereignty and national interests of our country". 

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