Shoigu: Check of Pacific Fleet Aimed at Boosting Russian Ability to Repel Ocean Attack
09:02 GMT 14.04.2023 (Updated: 10:21 GMT 14.04.2023)
© Russian Defence Ministry
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MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The main purpose of the unscheduled inspection of Russia's Pacific Fleet is to enhance the ability of the country's armed forces to "repel the aggression of a probable enemy" from maritime directions, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said on Friday.
"The main objective of this inspection is to increase the ability of the armed forces to repel the aggression of a probable enemy from ocean and sea directions," Shoigu said at a meeting with the ministry's senior officials.
In accordance with the General Staff's orders, the fleet will have to refine the operational plan taking into account the training situation, prepare the troops for combat actions in a short time, carry out operational deployment and work out a set of training and combat tasks both in the near and far maritime zones.
Particularly, Russia's Pacific fleet will practice repelling the potential enemy's landing on the Southern Kuril islands and Sakhalin.
"It is necessary to work out practical ways to prevent the deployment of enemy forces to the operationally important area of the Pacific Ocean — the southern part of the Sea of Okhotsk and to repel landing on the southern Kuril Islands and Sakhalin Island. Throughout the entire inspection, I ask you to pay attention to the development of measures to counteract the potential enemy," Shoigu stressed.
During a surprise inspection, the Russian Pacific Fleet will carry out missile launches to destroy naval strike groups and ground targets of a potential enemy.
"During the event, the Pacific Fleet will have to repel massive missile and air strikes, conduct exercises to search for and destroy submarines, carry out torpedo, artillery and missile launches in the course of defeating naval strike groups and ground facilities of a potential enemy," Shoigu added.
Sergey Shoigu instructed on Friday Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Fomin to bring to the attention of foreign military attaches information about the tasks of a sudden inspection of the Pacific Fleet.
"Fomin [is instructed to] to organize the communication to the [foreign] military attaches of information on the tasks of a sudden inspection of the Pacific Fleet," Shoigu stressed.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Friday called a surprise inspection of Russia's Pacific Fleet a regular practice to maintain the necessary level of combat readiness of the country's armed forces.
"The practice of surprise inspections continues, it is a common practice, it has been constantly conducted in recent years, it continues to maintain the necessary level of combat readiness of our armed forces," Peskov told reporters.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is not planning to attend the inspection of the Pacific Fleet's combat readiness, the spokesman noted.
When asked if the inspection is connected with possible NATO expansion and potential accession of Japan to the alliance, Peskov said it has nothing to do with this.
