Putin's new plan - equipping with super missiles

Russia Russia's New Great Power Plan: Equipping Navy with Super Missiles   

Of: Emmanuel Silva 

Published: Less than 20 min ago 

NEWS 

Russia is betting on becoming a major power at sea. 

On board a parade ship in Saint Petersburg, Putin tells that the fleet is to be equipped with lightning-fast zircon missiles. 

And in the new marine plan, the Arctic is singled out as a priority region. 

Putin wants Russia to become a major power in the seven seas and has his sights set on the Arctic. 

On Sunday, Russia celebrated Navy Day with parades and ceremonies across the country. On board a boat in the port city of Saint Petersburg, Putin announced that the Russian fleet will be equipped with lightning-fast zircon missiles, the Daily Mail reports. 

- The key here is the ability of the Russian fleet. It can react with lightning speed against anyone who decides to encroach on Russia's sovereignty and freedom, says Putin during his speech. 

The new weapons will be delivered in the coming months, the president said. 

Written under new doctrine 

Hypersonic robots can travel nine times faster than the speed of sound. Over the past year, Russia has test-fired Zircon missiles from both warships and submarines. 

Putin did not mention Ukraine in his speech, but he stressed that the missiles will be deployed wherever Moscow's interests lie. Just before Putin delivered his speech to naval officers and other onlookers, he signed a 55-page naval doctrine. 

Vladimir Putin during the celebration of Navy Day in Saint Petersburg. Photo: Mikhail Klimentyev / AP 

The doctrine states that Russia will become "a major naval power" on the world's oceans. It also states that the country's primary threat at sea is "the US's strategic policy to dominate the world's oceans". 

Arctic priority region 

In Putin's naval plan, the Arctic is singled out as a strategically important region. Russia will now increase its naval presence around the Russian islands in the Arctic. 

According to the plan, Russia will also increase its presence on and around Svalbard, reports VG. But it is unclear whether these are civil or marine maritime activities. 

However, according to the Svalbard Treaty, it is forbidden to establish military installations on the island or to use the surrounding waters for war purposes. 

- We also see that Russia is settling in other sea areas, not least the Black Sea, and that is definitely a source of concern, Kristian Åtland at the Norwegian Defense Research Institute tells the newspaper. 

The celebration had to be interrupted after reports of an attack 

In the port city of Sevastopol on the Crimean Peninsula, the Navy Day celebrations had to be abruptly interrupted. 

According to the city's pro-Russian mayor, an attack was aimed at the headquarters of the Russian Black Sea Fleet. Six employees are said to have been injured. 

At the same time, Ukrainian authorities state that they were not behind the attack. 

- The recapture of the Crimean peninsula will be carried out in a more effective way, says Sergey Brachuk, spokesman for the Ukrainian military in Odessa.