Russia’s Navy will receive 30 combat ships of various classes this year alone, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Sunday.
“Today Russia confidently implements its large-scale objectives of the national maritime policy and persistently builds up the might of its Navy. This year alone, 30 warships of various classes will join it,” state news agency TASS cited Putin as saying.
“It is good that the tradition of giving its name to Russian Navy ships has been revived. The St. George’s naval flag was raised aboard the new Merkury as a sign of our preserved naval traditions, a symbol of courage, valor and steadfastness of naval sailors,” Putin said, stressing that “these qualities are displayed in full today as well.”
This year’s Naval Parada involved 45 combat ships, gunboats and submarines of the Northern, Pacific, Baltic and Black Sea Fleets and about 3,000 troops.
There have been multiple Russian vessels that were damaged or sunk after attacks by Ukrainian forces, most significantly the Moskva – a guided missile cruiser of the Russian Navy, a Serna class.
Naval Ships losses amounted to 12, of which destroyed: 8, and damaged: 4. They included: Project 1164 Slava-class guided missile cruiser ‘Moskva’, Project 03160 Raptor-class patrol boats, Project 1171 Tapir-class landing ship ‘Saratov (BDK-65)’, Project 11770 Serna-class landing craft, and Project 266M Natya-class minesweeper, according to Oryx, a military blog which records both sides’ losses based on verifiable visual evidence.
Russia increased the number of its warships in the Black Sea to 11, among them two missile ships with a total volley of 12 Kalibr-type cruise missiles, Ukraine’s armed forces said two weeks ago.
Source: Al Arabiya
