Russia on Tuesday launched "Okean-2024 [Ocean-2024], its biggest naval drill in recent times, to be held simultaneously in the Pacific and Arctic Oceans apart from the Mediterranean, Caspian, and Baltic Seas, President Vladimir Putin announced. He called on the country to be ready for any scenario amid "growing geopolitical tensions." The exercises are aimed at testing the combat readiness of the Russian Navy and the Air Force, as well as checking their interoperability, he said as he joined the opening of the exercise via video link.
The maneuvers, which are expected to involve over 400 battleships and submarines, in addition to support vessels, over 120 aircraft, and more than 90,000 personnel, would include complex activities with high-precision weapons launch simulations, Putin said at a meeting that was attended by Defense Minister Andrey Belousov, RT reported. He added that the drills would also make use of the experience the Russian troops had garnered during the ongoing conflict between Moscow and Kiev. China also takes part in the Russian drills, with four vessels and 15 aircraft of the People's Liberation Army joining the exercise, according to Chief of the Russian Navy Admiral Aleksandr Moiseev.
Representatives from more than 15 other nations were invited as observers to the drills, Putin added. He said Moscow intends to "pay special attention to strengthening military cooperation with friendly nations," pointing out that this receives "particular importance against the background of the growing geopolitical tensions." Claiming the US is "trying to maintain its global military and political dominance at any cost," Putin said it is using Ukraine in a bid to inflict a strategic defeat upon Moscow, but with its "satellites," has also built up a military presence in Europe, the Arctic, and the Pacific under the pretext of "containing" Russia and China.
He emphasized that the US and its allies have proclaimed "openly the plans to deploy short and medium-range missiles to the islands of the Western Pacific and to some states of the region." "The US seeks to receive a considerable military advantage through its aggressive actions and thus break the existing security architecture and the balance of power," he warned, saying these actions "provoke the arms race.
"Russia must be ready for any probable scenario," he underscored and added that the armed forces had to reliably provide security to Russia's sovereignty and its national interests.
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