During the exercise, carried out after Moscow’s diplomatic break with NATO, state-of-the-art naval and antiaircraft fighting systems were used.
The constant tensions in the Black Sea between Russian and NATO vessels, in addition to the recent breakdown of diplomatic relations between Moscow and the Atlantic Alliance, have put the Russian Navy on the warpath again. The frigate Admiral Grigoróvich carried out firing exercises with Bal and Utios anti-ship shuttles on Tuesday in waters near Crimea, a peninsula that Russia annexed in March 2014.
The press service of the Black Sea Fleet reported that “during the exercises the destruction of an enemy naval group and the plane sent with the mission of neutralizing our frigate was simulated.” In the same note, it is stated that, in order to guarantee the safety of third vessels, navigation in the area was closed with an operation that involved 20 vessels.
The Russian Navy introduced the Bal shuttles in 2008, which are also used in coastal locations. “They use J-35 missiles, designed for the defense of territorial waters, naval bases and other infrastructures,” the statement said. The Utios shuttles are from the Soviet era, integrated into the Navy in 1972, but modernized in 2016. They are equipped with P-35 missiles and can also be armed with modern Onix hypersonic rockets.
The Black Sea was the scene this summer of the confrontation carried out by Russian and NATO ships, which carried out the ‘Sea Breeze’ maneuvers there, in which the Spanish patrol boat Rayo participated. At the beginning of July, the spokesman for the Russian Defense Ministry, General Igor Konashénkov, warned that “despite the fact that NATO’s maneuvers are naval due to their status and denomination, their real limits of military action go far beyond the maritime sector. Ukrainian in the Black Sea ‘, suggesting that they are also targeting the Crimean peninsula.
On June 23, Moscow claimed that its ships opened warning fire on the British destroyer HMS Defender, off the coast of Crimea, for “violating” Russian territorial waters. London denied it, assured that it was a “peaceful” voyage in Ukrainian waters and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson admitted that the idea of sending his destroyer there was his, since his country does not recognize that Crimea is Russian.
The United Kingdom ambassador in Moscow had to go to the Russian Foreign Ministry to explain, where they described the incident as “provocation” and warned that the next time “the ship will be destroyed”, a threat that was also reiterated by Russian President Vladimir Putin, during his traditional “hotline” with viewers.
After what happened with the HMS Defender, just the next day, on June 24 in front of the Kerch Strait, also in Crimea, Russian Su-24 and Su-30 fighter jets flew low over the Dutch frigate Evertsen, which also participated in the maneuvers and had to turn around. The Netherlands Foreign Ministry denounced that “the Russian fighters created a dangerous situation to intimidate the Evertsen ship in the Black Sea”, which did not enter Russian waters.
Last week, Russia suspended its diplomatic relations with NATO as of November 1. It is Russia’s response to the expulsion by the Atlantic Alliance of eight of its diplomats on October 6, for alleged links “with hostile activities” of espionage and even with alleged assassination attempts.
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