Story By: Ana Marjanovic, Sub-Editor: Michael Leidig, Agency: Newsflash
Russia has said that it has completed its week-long Navy drills in the Pacific Ocean and performed over 300 combat exercises, with over half of them focused on the practical use of its weapons.
The images, which were obtained from the Russian Ministry of Defence (MoD), show Russian warships, fighter planes, helicopters and other military vehicles participating in the huge exercises.
Russian warships can be seen firing at imagined enemies with their long guns aeroplanes can be seen dropping mock bombs at designated locations.
A missile hatch opens ominously aboard one of the Russian warships as the footage ends.
The Russian MoD said in a statement: “In the Pacific Ocean, the exercise of the group of forces of the Pacific Fleet in the far sea zone was completed.
“During the practical operations in the Pacific Ocean, the group of the Pacific Fleet performed more than 300 combat exercises, 170 of which were with the practical use of weapons.
“More than 40 warships and fleet support vessels, as well as about 20 aircraft, were involved in the exercise.”
The Russian MoD had said on Tuesday, 7th June: “The final days of the winter training period for the Pacific sailors were filled to the limit with hard and responsible combat work, which did not stop for a day. The situation demands from the defenders of the Fatherland the highest skill, cohesion of actions and responsibility in the performance of combat training tasks.”
It had added: “According to the results of the exercise, the actions of the ship’s strike group were recognized by the OKVS command as successful, all targets were hit during the firing.”
Russian troops invaded Ukraine on 24th February in what the Kremlin is still calling a “special military operation”. Today marks the 107th day of the campaign.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that between 24th February and 10th June, Russia had lost 31,900 personnel, 1,409 tanks, 3,450 armoured fighting vehicles, 712 artillery pieces, 222 multiple launch rocket systems, 97 anti-aircraft systems, 212 warplanes, 178 helicopters, 2,438 motor vehicles and fuel tankers, 13 warships, 572 tactical drones, 54 pieces of special equipment and 125 cruise missiles.
Over 1,000 Ukrainian troops captured in Mariupol have been transferred to Russia, according to Russian media. Ukrainian officials estimate that at least 21,000 civilians have been killed in the city.
Two British men, Aiden Aslin, 28, and Shaun Pinner, 48, have been sentenced to death by a court in Russian-controlled eastern Ukraine after being captured while fighting with the Ukrainian army in Mariupol against Russian troops.
An aide to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that Ukraine is losing up to 200 troops a day.
The United Kingdom and the United States are sending long-range missile systems to Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned of more attacks in Ukraine if the West sends long-range weapons.
President Putin has said that the West will not be able to wean itself off from Russian oil and gas for years. US officials have now also admitted that Russian profits on energy might even be higher than they were before the war started.
President Zelenskyy has said that Russian attacks on the cities of Severodonetsk and Lysychansk have turned them into “dead cities”. But he added that Ukrainian forces could still hold Severodonetsk despite being outnumbered.
Russia’s ambassador to the United Nations, Vassily Nebenzia, walked out of a Security Council meeting after his country was blamed by European Council president Charles Michel for triggering a global food crisis.
President Zelenskyy has requested that a corridor be set up so that the country may export grain currently stuck in Ukrainian ports.
The European Parliament has adopted a resolution recommending that the European Union grant Ukraine the status of candidate country for EU membership. Some 438 MEPs voted in favour of the resolution, with 65 voting against and 94 abstaining.
