Russia has said that one of its corvettes has sunk a mock enemy ship with a cruise missile during a military exercise.
The footage purports to show the Russian corvette firing the missile into the air.
The images were obtained from the Russian Ministry of Defence on Wednesday, 20th September, along with a statement claiming: “In the waters of the Chukotka and Bering Seas, as well as on the Chukotka Peninsula, tactical exercises of the Pacific Fleet forces continue under the name ‘Finval-2023’ with the goal of protecting the communications of the Northern Sea Route.
“These exercises are being conducted under the leadership of Admiral Nikolay Evmenov, the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy.
“One of the episodes of the exercise involved launching a missile strike against a hypothetical enemy ship that had approached the border of Russian territorial waters in the Anadyr Gulf of the Bering Sea. The task of eliminating the intruder, which had entered the Anadyr Gulf of the Bering Sea, was assigned to the crew of the corvette ‘Gremyashchiy’, equipped with cruise missiles ‘Kalibr’.
“The Pacific Fleet sailors successfully carried out the orders, conducting missile firing at a naval target located more than 300 kilometres from the launch point.
“According to objective monitoring data, the missile precisely hit its target. The results of the successful firing were reported to the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy.
“The crew of the corvette ‘Gremyashchiy’, which has been performing tasks as part of the Pacific Fleet for two years, demonstrated high training and skill in conducting missile firing.
“Approximately 10,000 military personnel and over 50 units of military equipment, including surface ships and support vessels, submarines, aircraft, and helicopters of naval aviation, coastal missile complexes ‘Bal’ and ‘Bastion’, as well as wheeled and tracked high-mobility armoured vehicles, are involved in the ‘Finval-2023’ tactical exercise.
“During the manoeuvres, successful launches of cruise missiles were carried out against a complex target position in the northeastern part of the Bering Sea, interception of cruise missiles, and a series of other combat exercises. All episodes of the exercise have a defensive nature and are aimed at improving the preparedness of forces and troops for actions on the northeastern borders of Russia.”
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 574th day of the full-scale war.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that between 24th February 2022 and 20th September 2023, Russia had lost about 273,980 personnel, 4,635 tanks, 8,868 armoured combat vehicles, 6,096 artillery units, 779 multiple launch rocket systems, 526 air defence systems, 315 warplanes, 316 helicopters, 4,821 drones, 1,479 cruise missiles, 20 warships, 1 submarine, 8,633 motor vehicles and fuel tankers, and 906 units of special equipment.
Russia has claimed that its casualties have been much lower but provides infrequent updates on its latest figures.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky asked world leaders at the General Assembly of the United Nations on Tuesday to stand united against Moscow’s invasion of his country and to push back so that the world could focus on solving other global challenges.
The UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, said that Russia was creating a “world of insecurity” with its invasion of Ukraine, adding that this had “unleashed the next phase of our lives: historic human rights abuse, families torn apart, children traumatised, hopes and dreams shattered.”
Joe Biden, the US president, said that the United Nations meeting was “darkened by the shadow of war”, which he said was an “illegal war of conquest without provocation by Russia.”
Ukraine has asked three of its neighbours, European Union members Poland, Slovakia and Hungary, for “constructive dialogue” to find a solution to a dispute over agricultural trade.
The US Secretary of Defence, Lloyd Austin, has said that air defence will continue to be Ukraine’s “greatest need” to fight Russia.
He said: “Air defence will continue to be Ukraine’s greatest need to protect the skies, its civilians, and its cities as well as innocent people far away from the battlefield.”
The British government will supply “tens of thousands” of rounds of artillery to Ukraine this year, it said on Tuesday.
Two people have been killed after Russian ordnance hit the Ukrainian cities of Lviv and Kherson overnight.
Ukraine’s Air Force said that Russia had launched 30 drones and one ballistic missile at it in an overnight attack, adding that 27 of the drones had been shot down.
