Russian Pacific Fleet ships return home after joint naval maneuvers with China

MOSCOW, December 30. /TASS/. A Pacific Fleet naval group has returned to its home base in Vladivostok in the Russian Far East after the Joint Sea 2022 naval maneuvers with China, the Fleet’s press office reported on Friday.

"The Pacific Fleet’s taskforce composed of the Order of Nakhimov Guards missile cruiser Varyag, the frigate Marshal Shaposhnikov, the corvettes Hero of the Russian Federation Aldar Tsydenzhapov and Sovershenny has arrived at the Fleet’s main naval base after completing the Joint Sea 2022 Russia-China naval maneuvers," the press office said in a statement.

The crews of the naval taskforce’s warships accomplished assigned missions in complex storm conditions but the Pacific Fleet’s seamen demonstrated high combat training skills, returning to the home harbor on the eve of the New Year. The sailors’ return to the home naval base before the beginning of the New Year was a joyful event for family members of the crew of the Guards missile cruiser Varyag as the warship had been on combat watch at sea as part of a naval taskforce last year, the press office reported.

During the joint maneuvers, the sailors of the Russian and Chinese navies exercised to liberate a seized vessel and honed the skills of search and rescue operations at sea, conducted joint tactical maneuvering and communications drills, it said.

The warships of both countries supported by anti-submarine warfare aircraft jointly practiced hunting a notional enemy submarine and performed a salvo launch of rocket-propelled depth charges. They carried out artillery firings against the target simulating a surface combat ship and struck aerial targets by surface-to-air missiles and artillery guns. In all, the warships of both navies accomplished more than 10 combat exercises, the press office reported.

The Joint Sea 2022 Russia-China naval maneuvers ran in the East China Sea on December 21-27.

The Chinese naval taskforce was represented by the destroyers Jinan and Baotou, the frigates Binzhou and Yancheng, a comprehensive supply ship and a diesel submarine.