MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday hailed the navy’s efficiency throughout large naval drills which have concerned your complete Russian Pacific Fleet - a present of pressure amid the tensions with the West over the combating in Ukraine.

Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu reported to Putin that the train that started Friday includes 167 warships, together with 12 submarines, 89 plane and 25,000 troops.

As a part of the drills, Russia’s nuclear-capable long-range strategic bombers will “fly over the central part of the Pacific Ocean to imitate strikes against groups of enemy ships,” Shoigu stated.

Speaking throughout Monday’s assembly with Shoigu, Putin praised the navy’s “high level” efficiency and stated that related drills ought to be held in different areas.

The Defense Ministry has declared that sectors within the southern a part of the Sea of Okhotsk, the Peter the Great Bay of the Sea of Japan and the Avacha Bay on the southeastern coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula could be closed to sea and air visitors throughout follow torpedo and missile launches and artillery workouts.

The ministry stated that the drills have been supposed to “test the Pacific Fleet’s readiness to repel aggression.” The ministry described the briefing as a present of Russia’s “voluntary transparency.”

The Russian navy has concentrated the majority of its forces on the entrance traces in Ukraine, however has additionally continued conducting common drills throughout Russia to coach its forces and display their readiness.

The Pacific Fleet drills began simply earlier than Chinese Defense Minister Gen. Li Shangfu arrived in Russia on Sunday and met with Putin, who hailed shut ties between Moscow and Beijing.

Li’s talks with Shoigu would give attention to “prospects of bilateral defense cooperation and acute issues of global and regional security,” the Russian Defense Ministry stated.

On Friday, Shoigu famous that the state of affairs for the maneuvers envisages a response to an adversary’s try to make a touchdown on Sakhalin Island and the southern Kuril Islands.

Japan asserts territorial rights to the Kuril Islands, which it calls the Northern Territories. The Soviet Union took them within the ultimate days of World War II, and the dispute has stored the international locations from signing a peace treaty formally ending their hostilities.

Last yr, Russia introduced it had suspended peace talks with Japan to protest Tokyo’s sanctions towards Moscow over its motion in Ukraine.

Russia has constructed up its navy presence on the islands in recent times, deploying superior fighter jets, anti-ship missiles and air protection techniques there.

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