Russia increases military presence in strategic areas of globe – General Staff chief

File Photo of Deck of Russian Aircraft Carrier Admiral Kuznetsov

MOSCOW. Nov 7 (Interfax) – Russia’s military presence in strategic areas of the globe has markedly grown over the past five years, Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov said.

“The growth of the Armed Forces’ combat capabilities over the past five years has resulted in a significant expansion of Russia’s military presence in strategic areas of the world,” Gerasimov said at a meeting of the Defense Ministry’s board.

The intensity of naval deployments to important parts of the World Ocean has increased, he said. There have been 672 in the past five years, including 36 to the Arctic zone and 22 deployments to patrol piracy-prone areas. Their number peaked in 2017, with 139 deployments.

“There have been more sea deployments for submarines on combat-training and combat-service missions. Thanks to restored technical readiness and the building of new submarines, this figure has increased four-, fivefold,” Gerasimov said.

These measures “significantly raised the level of preparedness of warship and aircraft crews, contributed to the rising international prestige of the Russian Navy, demonstrated the high efficiency and reliability of Russian weapons and equipment,” Gerasimov said.

[featured image is file photo from different occasion]

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