Russia has said that its ships have fired missiles and artillery in the Sea of Japan.
The footage purports to show Russian warships carrying out drills in the Sea of Japan, with the images at first showing a helicopter taking off from a Russian vessel.
The images then show ordnance being fired simultaneously from a number of Russian vessels.
The images were obtained from the Russian Ministry of Defence (MoD) on Tuesday, 18th April, along with a statement claiming: “In the Sea of Japan, the ship group of the Pacific Fleet carried out artillery and rocket firing.”
The Russian MoD added: “The ship’s search and strike group, consisting of the Gromkiy corvette and several small anti-submarine ships of the Pacific Fleet (Pacific Fleet), conducted rocket and artillery firing in the Sea of Japan during a sudden check of the combat readiness of the fleet forces.
“After receiving target designation from the crew of the Ka-27M helicopter, small anti-submarine ships fired depth charges from rocket launchers. Also, to destroy a mock enemy submarine, the crew of the Gromkiy Corvette used a torpedo from the Paket small-sized anti-submarine complex.
“After that, the group carried out rocket and artillery firing at sea and air targets. Small anti-submarine ships used anti-aircraft missiles of the Osa self-defence complex. ‘Gromky’ fired from a 100-mm A-190 artillery mount and a 30-mm AK-630 rapid-fire artillery mount.
“By decision of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, President of Russia Vladimir Putin, from April 14, a sudden check of the combat readiness of the forces of the Pacific Fleet has been carried out, which was alerted in full force. Long-range aviation, aviation of the Eastern Military District, units and support units are involved in the check.”
We have not been able to independently verify the claims or the footage.
Russia invaded Ukraine on 24th February 2022 in what the Kremlin is still calling a “special military operation”. Today marks the 419th day of the full-scale war.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that between 24th February 2022 and 18th April 2023, Russia had lost about 183,130 personnel, 3,661 tanks, 7,098 armoured combat vehicles, 2,810 artillery units, 538 multiple launch rocket systems, 285 air defence systems, 308 warplanes, 293 helicopters, 2,353 drones, 911 cruise missiles, 18 warships, 5,676 motor vehicles and fuel tankers, and 330 units of special equipment.
Russia has claimed that its casualties have been much lower but provides infrequent updates on its latest figures.
The British and German air forces have intercepted two Russian fighter jets and a spy plane that were flying close to NATO airspace.
The UK’s Royal Air Force scrambled Eurofighter typhoons and, along with German aircraft, they intercepted the Russian jets, which were flying over the Baltic Sea and the Gulf of Finland.
The United Kingdom has condemned the sentencing of Russian political activist and journalist Vladimir Kara-Murza, who holds both Russian and British citizenship, to 25 years in prison for opposing the war in Ukraine.
The US Ambassador to Russia, Lynne Tracy, has made her first visit to the jailed Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who was arrested two weeks ago and was charged with spying by the Russian authorities.
The Pentagon has said that it expects findings in 45 days from a review into how the US military handles classified information following a huge leak of sensitive data and the arrest of a 21-year-old National Guard airman.
Slovakia has said that it will temporarily halt imports of grain from Ukraine to protect its farmers, joining Poland and Hungary.
Ukraine and Poland have begun talks to try to reach an agreement on imports.
The Slovak Ministry of Defence has said that Slovakia has supplied Kyiv with all 13 of the MiG-29 fighter jets it had pledged to Ukraine.
