MOSCOW, April 17. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin highly commended the first stage of the Pacific Fleet’s surprise combat readiness drills and thanked the military for their professional operations at a meeting with Defense Minister Army General Sergey Shoigu on Monday.

"I listen to you, Sergey Kuzhugetovich. Did you want to brief me on the Pacific Fleet’s drills?" the head of state said, beginning the meeting.

After hearing the defense minister’s report, Putin said: "The first stage of the sudden inspection has, indeed, passed at a very high level." "I want to express my gratitude to all those who organized this work," the head of state said.

Pacific Fleet’s sudden inspection

All of the Pacific Fleet’s forces went on heightened alert on April 14 in a surprise combat readiness check. The naval sailors will exercise to prevent a potential enemy’s penetration into the southern part of the Sea of Okhotsk, repel the landing of an adversary force on the Island of Sakhalin and the southern Kuril Islands, Defense Minister Shoigu earlier reported.

The sudden combat readiness inspection commanded by Russian Navy Commander-in-Chief Nikolay Yevmenov also involves long-range aviation, aircraft of the Eastern Military District and logistic support units. The sweeping drills are aimed at raising the preparedness of the Russian forces for "repelling a potential enemy’s aggression from oceanic and maritime directions." The exercise will also focus on operations by strategic nuclear-powered missile-carrying submarines.