Russia begins naval maneuvers in the Pacific

Russia began naval maneuvers in the Pacific on Tuesday, including anti-submarine exercises and exercises against air strikes, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement.

This announcement comes as Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected on Tuesday for a two-day visit to North Korea, at the end of which a strategic partnership agreement could be signed between Moscow and Pyongyang, linked by ties “unwavering brothers in arms» according to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, and whose alliance is seen as a threat by the West.

Americans and Europeans have been worried for months about the accelerated rapprochement between Moscow and Pyongyang, accusing the North Koreans of delivering munitions to Russia for its assault on Ukraine in exchange for technological, diplomatic and food assistance.

The maneuvers involving around 40 ships, launches and boats, as well as around twenty planes and helicopters “will last from June 18 to 28 in the waters of the Pacific, the Seas of Japan and Okhotsk“, in the Russian Far East, said the Russian Defense Ministry.

A video released by the ministry shows several ships and a submarine sailing in formation off the Sea of ​​Japan in Vladivostok, home port of the Russian Pacific Fleet. “At different stages, the sailors will practice anti-submarine warfare (…), missile strikes against groups of ships of a conventional enemy. and to “repel attacks by aerial and naval drones», According to the ministry.

Hours before Mr. Putin’s scheduled arrival in Pyongyang, incidents broke out on the inter-Korean border. According to the South Korean General Staff, “several dozen North Korean soldiers crossed the military demarcation line», before retreating under warning shots from the South. This is the second such incursion in less than two weeks.