In the midst of a massive surprise inspection of the Russian Pacific Fleet, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Monday that the fleet can be used in conflicts "in any direction," according to the Kremlin.
The chief concern of the Russian armed forces is the Ukrainian theatre and newly annexed territories, Putin said in response to a briefing on the navy by Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, but that the operations of the Pacific Fleet had not been canceled.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov commented on Putin’s statements to Interfax, saying that "our environment is very turbulent in many areas, fraught with conflict situations, regional conflicts, we all know the geography of these regional conflicts well. That was what we were talking about."
"Our environment is very turbulent in many areas, fraught with conflict situations, regional conflicts, we all know the geography of these regional conflicts well. That was what we were talking about."
Dmitry Peskov
Shoigu said that since April 14, the surprise inspection saw the review of 25,000 military personnel, 167 warships, support vessels and submarines, and 89 aircraft and helicopters.
The inspection is set to end on April 18 with joint exercises against simulated enemy submarines and mock enemy ship groupings. The participants are then expected to return to their deployment positions, according to the defense minister.
What's the point of inspecting, exercising Russia's Pacific Fleet?
The Russian Defense Ministry said on Saturday that the objective of the exercises and inspections was to bring the Pacific Fleet to the highest degree of combat readiness.
"The main goal of a surprise inspection of the Pacific Fleet is to build up the ability of the Armed Forces to address the tasks of repelling the aggression of a potential enemy from oceanic and sea areas," said the ministry.
The exercises for increasing the fleet’s combat readiness include sudden conflict preparations, close and distant combat operations, repelling large-scale missile and air strikes, anti-submarine operations, and joint artillery and missiles attacks on enemy naval groups.
Peskov told Interfax on Monday that all exercises were conducted in accordance with international law.