Russia on Wednesday started large-scale simultaneous naval drills in in the Arctic Ocean, the Pacific, and the Baltic Sea, with additional activity reported in the Caspian. Named “July Storm”, the drills involving four Russian fleets, over 15,000 personnel, over 150 naval and auxiliary vessels, 120 aircraft, 10 coastal missile systems, and approximately 950 other military assets. The exercises will be held from July 23 to July 27 and overseen by Admiral Aleksandr Moiseyev, the newly appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy, the Russian Defence Ministry said in a statement.
"At sea, the ship crews will practice deployment to combat zones, anti-submarine defense, defense of base areas and economic activities," the ministry’s statement reads. According to the ministry, the drills will focus on "repelling attacks by enemy air attack means, unmanned boats and unmanned aerial vehicles, ensuring maritime navigation safety, delivering strikes on enemy targets and naval groupings."
Being the third most powerful navy in the world after China and the United States, Russian Navy has suffered a number of major losses since the full-fledged invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. In particular, Ukraine sank "Moskva” cruiser, the flagship of the Black Sea Fleet as well as about a quarter of the ships. Although having limited capacity due to Ukrainian strikes, Russian navy in Black Sea is capable of launching large-scale missile strikes.
