SEVEROMORSK, January 26. /TASS/. The Northern Fleet’s warships deployed to the Barents Sea for drills with the Arctic expeditionary task force, the Fleet’s press office reported on Wednesday.

"A group of combat ships and support vessels of the Northern Fleet has deployed to the Barents Sea as part of an exercise that has begun with the Arctic expeditionary task force," the press office said in a statement.

During the drills, the naval group will practice interoperability of the Fleet’s all-arms forces in jointly accomplishing the tasks of ensuring the security of sea lanes and areas of Russia’s maritime economic activity in northern seas in the event of the emergence of crisis situations, the statement says.

The Northern Fleet’s naval task force is made up of the missile cruiser Marshal Ustinov, the frigate Fleet Admiral Kasatonov, the large anti-submarine warfare ship Vice Admiral Kulakov and also support vessels, the press office specified.

Drills in the World Ocean

In compliance with the 2022 plan of the Russian Armed Forces’ training, a series of naval drills will be held in January-February this year in all the areas of responsibility of the Navy’s fleets under the general command of Russian Navy Commander-in-Chief Admiral Nikolay Yevmenov.

The naval maneuvers will focus on measures by the Navy and the Aerospace Force to protect Russia’s national interests in the World Ocean and counter military threats to Russia from the direction of seas and oceans.

The drills will cover the seas adjacent to Russian territory and also operationally important areas of the World Ocean. Separate drills will run in the Mediterranean, North and Okhotsk Seas, in the northeastern Atlantic and the Pacific Ocean.

Overall, the sweeping drills will bring together over 140 warships and support vessels, more than 60 aircraft, 1,000 items of military hardware and about 10,000 troops.