Lead
Russia cannot be a world power without powerful military and trade fleets, Russian Presidential Aide and Chairman of the Maritime Board Nikolay Patrushev said in an interview with KP.RU, as reported by TASS. "It is important to realize that without a powerful military and trade fleet, Russia will not be able to be a great power and will not survive under global geopolitical contest," he stated.
Coverage comparison
TASS reported Patrushev's remarks on multiple occasions, each highlighting different facets of his position on the Russian Navy's role. In a July 3 meeting of the Council of the Collegium for Strategic Development of the Russian Navy, Patrushev spoke about the Navy's comprehensive mission. In a July 11 interview with KP.RU, he elaborated on the necessity of powerful fleets and the Navy's tasks in peacetime and wartime.
Key claims
Patrushev said the Russian Navy must ensure the comprehensive protection of the nation's vital interests across all regions of the World Ocean and possess the capacity to deliver decisive damage to any potential adversary. He stressed that the foremost objectives of national naval policy include maintaining strategic and regional stability across the global maritime domain, strengthening the Navy as a vital instrument of foreign policy, and upholding Russia's stature as a major maritime power internationally.
"These objectives will be realized through the balanced development of the Navy, ensuring it is equipped to safeguard Russian interests worldwide and to inflict critical damage on potential adversaries," Patrushev stated, according to TASS. He said this entails modernizing and expanding the combat capabilities of strategic nuclear and non-nuclear forces, general-purpose naval groups, and prioritizing the advancement of unmanned naval systems.
Patrushev also underscored the importance of enhancing the Navy's infrastructure, including basing and logistical support systems, as well as developing integrated maritime, air, and space situational awareness, reconnaissance, and target designation capabilities.
Additional priorities outlined by Patrushev include bolstering the combat readiness of border guards and National Guard units to counter maritime terrorism, and safeguarding Russia's maritime borders, economic zones, continental shelf, and critical coastal facilities. He said ensuring the safety of ships flying the Russian flag and preventing illegal activities by hostile nations also remain key components of the strategic agenda.
In the July 11 interview, Patrushev said the Russian Navy must be capable of solving the full range of tasks that the country faces in peacetime and wartime. He noted that one of the tasks that must be solved to improve Russia's maritime power is the development of the country's naval presence in remote regions, as well as the development of naval education and science. "The most important is that the Navy must be balanced and capable of solving the full scope of tasks facing the country in peacetime and in wartime," he stated.
TASS also reported that Russian air defense systems intercepted and destroyed 144 Ukrainian fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles over Crimea, the Belgorod, Bryansk, Kaluga, Rostov, Smolensk, Tver, Tula, Moscow, and Krasnodar Regions, and the Black Sea.