MOSCOW, September 18. /TASS/. The Pacific Fleet is holding drills to protect Northern Sea Route communications in the waters of the Chukchi and Bering Seas and on the Chukotka Peninsula, the Russian Defense Ministry reported.
"In the waters of the Chukchi and Bering Seas, as well as on the Chukotka Peninsula, the Pacific Fleet's tactical exercise entitled Finval-2023 to protect the communications of the Northern Sea Route continues. The exercise is being conducted under the command of Admiral Nikolay Yevmenov, Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy. It involves troops and forces of the Pacific Fleet," the statement said.
The ministry added that about 10,000 servicemen and more than 50 units of military equipment, including surface and support ships, submarines, aircraft and helicopters of the Naval Air Force, Bal and Bastion coastal defense missile systems, as well as wheeled and tracked armored vehicles with high cross-country capability are taking part in the exercise.
The first part of the wargame was the battle exercise to defeat a group of ships in the northeastern part of the Bering Sea. "The crews of the Varyag guards missile cruiser and the Tomsk nuclear submarine, as well as the Bastion coastal defense missile system practiced the missile strike," the ministry said.
Vulkan, Granit and Oniks anti-ship missiles were also fired from their standard carriers, simulating a group of conventional enemy warships in the Bering Sea. According to objective control data, all missiles successfully hit the specified targets at a distance of hundreds of kilometers from the launch sites.
The ministry also added that during the maneuvers, a number of complex missile and artillery firing drills, drills on anti-air, anti-submarine and anti-landing defense, as well as marching with equipment on Arctic terrain will be carried out. "Each stage of the exercise is defensive in nature and is aimed at improving the training of troops and forces for actions on Russia's northeastern borders," it concluded.