Russian Navy starts major inter-fleet drills in Black and Mediterranean Seas
Russian Navy has started major military drills under the supervision of the Russian Armed Forces General Staff in the Black and Mediterranean Seas, press center of the Defense Ministry informs. The exercises, being the largest over the past few decades, involve the warships from the Northern, Baltic and Black Sea Fleets: guard guided-missile cruiser Moskva, major anti-submarine ship Severomorsk, patrol ships Smetlivy and Yaroslav Mudry, large landing ships Saratov, Azov, Kaliningrad and Aleksandr Shabalin, special ships and supply vessels as well as long-range aviation and the 4th Air Force and Air Defense Command.
The main objective of the drills is to check the readiness of the military command and the inter-fleet forces to fulfill missions in distant waters.
The drills will last until January 29, 2013. Russian sailors will conduct over 60 training missions including missile and artillery shooting exercises.
According to politologist, Russia’s exercises are aimed at enhancing its influence on the situation in Syria struck with the civil war between the President Bashar al-Assad loyalists and the rebels.
