Putin Rattles Sabre As Russian Vessel Fires Missiles In Sea Of Japan

These images show a Russian Navy vessel firing missiles in the Sea of Japan while Western allies conduct military exercises in the region and China threatens Taiwan.

The footage was shared online by the Russian Ministry of Defence, who captioned it (in Russian): "The guards missile cruiser "Varyag" and the large anti-submarine ship "Admiral Tributs" of the Pacific Fleet conducted missile firing in the Sea of ​​Japan. The launches were carried out at target missiles launched from small missile and small anti-submarine ships. During the exercise, 10 missile launches were carried out."

The Russian Ministry of Defence also issued a statement on their website in which they said that "the crews of the flagship of the Pacific Fleet (Pacific Fleet) of the Guards Order of Nakhimov, the missile cruiser (GRKR) Varyag and the large anti-submarine ship Admiral Tributs, as part of the final check during the summer training period, conducted a planned air defence exercise of the detachment in the Sea of ​​Japan, during which they performed practical launches of anti-aircraft missiles of the Fort, Dagger and Osa complexes against high-speed air targets."

The Russian statement also said: "The launch of the Malakhit cruise target missile in the interests of the detachment was carried out by the Razliv small missile ship. Saman target missiles launched from the Metel and Iney small anti-submarine ships were also used as air targets.

"In the course of the joint missile firing, the air defence crews of the Varyag cruiser found a cruise missile, took it for escort and destroyed the Fort air defence missile system at a safe distance for the ship. The rest of the targets GRKR "Varyag" and BOD "Admiral Tributs" hit with the use of SAM "Osa" and "Dagger", as well as naval artillery. In total, within the framework of practical actions, 10 missile launches were carried out.

"The combat exercise was provided by 12 warships and support vessels of the Pacific Fleet. They performed tasks to close the missile firing area."

The move comes days after the United States and its allies, including the United Kingdom, conducted Navy exercises of the Japanese island of Okinawa involving the use of three Western aircraft carrier strike groups and the Japanese helicopter carrier.

That move has largely been seen as the West sending China a message.

Taiwan, which considers itself to be a sovereign nation but which China considers to be a breakaway state, recently protested after China through dozens of aircraft into the air defence space as tensions between China and the West continue to rise.

Ministry of Defense of Russia/Cz/Joe Golder