On Russia’s annual Navy Day, President Vladimir Putin joined by video link today the large-scale naval drills, codenamed July Storm. The naval maneuvers are taking place in the operational areas of the Northern, Pacific and Baltic Fleets and the Caspian Flotilla. Presidential press spokesman Dmitry Peskov announced that President Putin will oversee practice firings and listen to Russian admirals’ reports.
Today is the last day of the five-day operational exercise, under the direction of Navy Commander-in-Chief Admiral Alexander Moiseyev in the Pacific and Arctic Oceans, the Baltic and Caspian Seas with the involvement of the forces of the Northern, Pacific and Baltic Fleets and the Caspian Flotilla. The drills have brought together over 150 combat ships and support vessels, 120 aircraft, 10 coastal defense missile systems, 950 items of military and special hardware and more than 15,000 personnel. The July Storm drills aim to check the readiness of the Fleets to accomplish unconventional assignments and employ precision-guided weapons and unmanned systems. The crews of combat ships are practicing measures to deploy to designated areas of fulfilling combat objectives, repel attacks by enemy drones and inflict losses on the enemy.
