MOSCOW, June 10. /TASS/. Several naval groups comprising corvettes, small missile ships and an anti-submarine warfare vessel have sailed to practice ranges in the Baltic Sea for naval drills, the Baltic Fleet’s press office reported on Monday.
"As part of planned drills, the naval hunter-killer and surface action groups comprising the corvettes Boiky and Stoiky, the small missile ships Serpukhov, Zelyony Dol, Liven and Passat and the anti-submarine warfare ship Aleksin will hold a set of drills," the press office said in a statement.
The naval ships will practice anti-submarine warfare measures, notional missile strikes against a simulated enemy’s ships, perform artillery and torpedo fire and deliver fire against air and sea targets of various complexity, the press office said.
A TASS source reported on June 8 that three Russian naval ships, specifically, the missile corvettes Stoiky and Boiky and the small missile ship Liven would be observing NATO’s Baltops-2019 maneuvers that were beginning in the Baltic Sea on June 9. Reconnaissance capabilities will also be deployed, the source added.
NATO’s Baltops-2019 exercise runs on June 9-21. It involves up to 40 surface ships and submarines and 40 aircraft from 18 countries. For the first time, the US 2nd Fleet re-established in 2018 will take part in the maneuvers. The Baltops-2019 exercise will be commanded from the US 6th Fleet’s Mount Whitney ship, which entered the Baltic Sea on May 30.
Russian Baltic Fleet ships took part in Baltops annual exercises in the late 1990s and the early 2000s.