Show of strength: Russia deploys 26 new warships

SAINT PETERSBURG: The Russian Navy will deploy a total of 26 new ships this year, four of which carry Kalibr cruise missiles, President Vladimir Putin said on Sunday as the country celebrated Navy Day with a demonstration. of strength.

"In total, the Navy should receive 26 new warships, motorboats and ships, including four warships equipped with Kalibr cruise missiles," Putin said in the city of St. Petersburg, in the north west of the country.

Kalibr missiles fired from Russian ships in the Mediterranean and the Caspian Sea were used as part of Moscow's military intervention in the Syrian conflict in favor of President Bashar al-Assad.

The Navy has already taken eight new ships this year, Putin added.
The commander of the Black Sea Fleet, based in the port of Sevastopol in Crimea, Vice Admiral Alexander Moiseyev, said six new ships, including missile ships, would be inducted by the end of the year, added Interfax.

Putin reviewed a spectacular annual naval exhibition on the Neva River in St. Petersburg with 39 warships performing maneuvers.

He told the 4,000 military personnel that the navy "makes an important contribution to the fight against international terrorism".

"Of course, we will continue to take measures to strengthen and develop the navy, by increasing the equipment," said Putin.

The Navy Day celebrations also included a parade in the Russian Syrian Tartous base in the Mediterranean for the second time, involving five ships and the diesel submarine Kolpino, the Defense Ministry said on Facebook .