Northern Fleet exercise in the Arctic
© Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation

Northern Fleet exercise in the Arctic

Northern Fleet ships are sailing for the Arctic under a combat training plan, Captain First Class Vadim Serga, Chief of the Northern Fleet press service, told RIA Novosti.

"Today, a unit consisting of several Northern Fleet warships and support vessels sailed from Severomorsk to the Barents Sea under a combat training plan and set course for the eastern Arctic," Serga said.

The unit includes the anti-submarine ship Severomorsk, the landing ships Kondopoga, Alexander Otrakovsky and Georgy Pobedonosets (St. George the Victorious), the rescue tug Pamir and the mooring vessel KIL-164. According to Serga, the minesweepers Kolomna, Yelnya and Yadrin completed short-range mine-clearing missions in the Barents Sea.

"The unit will sail with due consideration for local hydrometeorological conditions, and the ice situation will be monitored by aircraft, including helicopters, from the Northern Fleet's 45th Air Force/Air Defense Army. This will help provide navigational safety in the hard-to-navigate Arctic areas," Northern Fleet Commander Vice Admiral Nikolai Yevmenov noted.

This long-range exercise is to prepare for protecting Russia's shipping lanes and maritime activity in the Arctic, Serga said.