the russian navy can lead an unpredictable attack

The event, the centerpiece of celebrations across Russia, It brought together 54 ships, 48 ​​planes and more than 4,000 soldiers, at a time of great tension between the country and the West.

Part of the stopover, with coastguard boats, missiles, minesweepers and other small boats, took place off the coast of the Neva in St. Petersburg; the other, with 16 ships, including two corvettes, a missile cruiser and an anti-submarine destroyer, was developed in the Gulf of Finland, near the Kronstadt naval base, from which three frigates arrived India, Iran Yes Pakistan.

For the first time, the Borei-A K-549 Knyaz Vladimir class nuclear submarine, equipped with ballistic missiles, participated in the parade.

In a speech to the troops, Putin stressed that Russia has successfully developed new weapons and that the navy has all the necessary means to defend national interests.

“Today the Russian fleet has everything it needs to unfailingly defend the homeland and our national interests. We are able to detect any enemy target underwater, on the sea surface or in the air and, if necessary , to hit a inevitable blow“, he assured, quoted by the Sputnik press agency.

Putin’s comments come after an incident in the Black Sea in June, when Russia said it had fired warning shots and thrown projectiles in the path of a British warship to force it out of Crimean waters.

Britain rejected the Russian version of the incident, saying the gunfire was a previously reported Russian “artillery exercise” and no bomb was dropped.

Putin claimed that Russia has earned its place among the “great maritime powers of the world” having developed “efficient short and long range naval aviation, reliable coastal defense systems and next generation high precision hypersonic weapons, which are unmatched in the world and continue to be constantly and successfully improved”.

The festivities program also includes an air show with the participation of Be-12 amphibious aircraft, IL-38N and Tu-142M3 anti-submarines, Su-27, Su-30, Su-33 and MiG-29 fighters. , front line Su-27 bombers -24M, Su-25 ground attack aircraft and MiG-31 interceptors.

Putin praised his country’s new weapons in recent years, which he said were “invincible,” including the next-generation Avangard hypersonic missile, which entered service with the Russian military in December 2019, and the Zircon, which is successfully tested in July.

Other weapons are also in development, such as the Kinjal hypersonal missile for the air force and the nuclear-powered missile Burevestnik.

The latest S-500 air defense systems, described as “unprecedented in the world”, were also successfully tested on July 20.