Russia puts Pacific Fleet on high alert in surprise inspection

Above, a missile boat of the Pacific Fleet fires a Moskit cruise missile at a mock enemy sea target in the Sea of Japan during military exercises last month. (Russian Defense Ministry/AFP)

• Russia’s naval forces would be deployed to training areas and would carry out combat exercises as part of the drill

Russia has put its Pacific naval fleet on high alert as part of a surprise inspection aimed at building its defensive capabilities, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Friday.
“The main objective of this inspection is to increase the ability of the Armed Forces to repel the aggression of a probable enemy from the direction of ocean and sea,” Shoigu said on state television.
The drill will also simulate an enemy landing on Russia’s Sakhalin island and on its southern Kuril Islands, some of which are claimed by Japan in a territorial dispute dating back to the end of World War Two.
Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov said Russia’s naval forces would be deployed to training areas and would carry out combat exercises as part of the drill.