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Russia Sends Warships on Pacific Patrol
Russia's Pacific Fleet has sent two warships to patrol the Pacific and Indian Oceans in the first long-term mission in five years, a fleet spokesman said on Jan.15.
He said the mission of the big anti-submarine ships Admiral Vinogradov and Admiral Panteleyev, which left the fleet's base of Vladivostok on Sunday, would last around two and a half months.
The last such mission, during which Pacific Fleet ships traveled to the Mediterranean Sea, took place in early 1996.
Chronic cash shortages, typical of Russia's armed forces, have brought the Pacific Fleet's activities to a virtual halt.
Last year, it even had to cancel the traditional Navy Day parade because it could not come up with enough fuel for the event.
Last year's accident in Russia's Northern Fleet, in which the nuclear-powered submarine Kursk sank with the loss of 118 men, has raised a debate about whether Russia has the resources or even the need to keep up its status as a major naval power.
But President Vladimir Putin has vowed to restore Russia as a strong state and plans a radical military reform.
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