MURMANSK, October 2. /TASS/. The Russian Northern Fleet’s missile cruiser Marshal Ustinov currently on its long-distance deployment to the Mediterranean Sea held a series of shipboard exercises, including air defense drills, the Fleet’s press office reported on Wednesday.

"The ship’s crew held air defense and anti-submarine warfare exercises, and also practiced the ship’s protection and defense during a sea transit," the press office said.

The missile cruiser Marshal Ustinov replenished its shipborne supplies from the tanker Vyazma in a planned manner the other day. The crew replenished its stocks in the neutral waters in the eastern portion of the Mediterranean Sea during the anchorage.

During the anchorage, the missile cruiser’s crew also held exercises to fight a notional enemy’s underwater subversion groups. The sailors also practiced the skills of rescuing people at sea and providing assistance to a ship in distress.

The missile cruiser accompanied by support vessels entered the Mediterranean Sea on August 22. The Northern Fleet’s sailors held a series of drills and visited Algeria, Egypt and Turkey while the support vessels made business calls at Cyprus and Greece.

The missile cruiser departed the naval base of Severomorsk on July 3 to take part in Russia’s Main Naval Parade in St. Petersburg, after which its crew accomplished the tasks of the Russian Navy’s large-scale exercise Ocean Shield 2019. Since it left Severomorsk, the missile cruiser has covered a distance of over 14,000 nautical miles.