Status: 12/29/2022 5:11 pm
As Russia’s war against Ukraine rages on, President Putin has watched the inauguration of new warships – from his desk. In his speech, the head of the Kremlin announced new naval upgrades.
Against the backdrop of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, President Vladimir Putin presided over a ceremony marking the commissioning of several new warships for the Russian Navy. A submarine capable of firing nuclear missiles was also inaugurated.
Putin not only praised the capabilities of the Russian Navy on video – he also announced the production of other ships. Russia will equip the ships with the most modern weapons systems, the Kremlin chief said. “In short, it’s about doing everything possible to ensure Russia’s security and our national interests in the world’s seas,” Putin said.
Putin then gave the signal to hoist the Russian flag on new ships – such as the nuclear submarine Generalissimus Suvorov, which can fire nuclear ballistic missiles.
Putin wants to use experience from Ukraine
For the future training of soldiers, the experience of Russian actions in Ukraine will be used, Putin said. The Kremlin chief is referring to the Russian invasion of the neighboring country, which Moscow believes is not going as well as expected. Most Western observers agree that Russia underestimated Ukraine’s resistance.
The Russian army suffered setbacks from the very beginning. For example, Russia’s Black Sea fleet stationed on Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula, annexed by Moscow, was humiliated when Ukrainian forces sank its flagship Moskva in April. Recently, Ukraine has also repeatedly reported recaptures.
Insufficiently equipped Russian army
Putin, who has been in power in Russia for nearly 23 years, has made modernizing Russia’s armed forces one of his priorities. The Armed Forces were equipped with advanced missiles including hypersonic missiles, new ships and most importantly tanks.
However, reconstruction is expensive and repeatedly delayed due to technical difficulties and corruption cases. Despite modernization, the Russian army is still considered inadequately equipped and poorly organized.