Russia launches biggest strategic naval drills in decades involving all five fleets

Moscow: Russia on Tuesday launched "Okean-2024 (Ocean-2024), its biggest naval drill in recent times, set to be held simultaneously in the Pacific and Arctic Oceans as well as the Mediterranean, Caspian and Baltic Seas, President Vladimir Putin announced, as he called for the country to be ready for any scenario amid "growing geopolitical tensions".

The aim of the drills is to assess the combat readiness of the Russian Navy and the Air Force, as well as to check their interoperability, he said as he joined the opening of the exercise via video link.

The manoeuvres, involving more than 400 battleships and submarines as well as auxiliary vessels, some 120 aircraft and over 90,000 personnel, will include complex operations involving high-precision weapons launch simulations, Putin said at a meeting that was attended by Defense Minister Andrey Belousov, RT reported

The drills would employ the experience the Russian troops had gained during the ongoing conflict between Moscow and Kiev, he said

China is also taking part in the Russian drills, with four vessels and 15 aircraft of the People’s Liberation Army joining the exercise, Russian Navy chief, Admiral Aleksandr Moiseev, said.

Representatives from 15 other nations were also invited to the drills as observers, according to Putin.

Moscow plans to "pay special attention to strengthening military cooperation with friendly nations", he said, noting that this gains "particular importance against the background of the growing geopolitical tensions".

Claiming the US is "trying to maintain its global military and political dominance at any cost", Putin said it is using Ukraine in a bid to inflict a strategic defeat upon Moscow, but with its "satellites", has also built up a military presence in Europe, the Arctic and the Pacific under the pretext of “containing” Russia and China.

He noted that the US and its allies openly speak about their plans to deploy short and medium-range missiles to the islands in the Western Pacific and some nations located in the region. "The US seeks to get a sizable military advantage through its aggressive actions and thus break the existing security architecture and the balance of power," he said, warning such actions "provoke the arms race.”

“Russia must be ready for any potential scenario," the President said, adding that the armed forces should provide reliable security to both Russia’s sovereignty and its national interests.