NOVO-OGAREVO, October 18. /TASS/. Russia has an icebreaker fleet that knows no equals and is building new vessels, President Vladimir Putin said at a meeting with representatives of the BRICS media.

"We are building an icebreaker fleet that no other country in the world has. There is simply no such nuclear icebreaker fleet in the world, except for Russia," he said.

Putin recalled that Russia has seven nuclear icebreakers and 34 diesel ones and these ships are "of a very high class, they are powerful, modern."

"Another icebreaker, the Leader, is being built, which will generally break ice of any thickness and will operate year-round," the President added.

Russian icebreakers already allow ships to navigate the Northern Sea Route for nine months, the Russian President concluded.