Russian Military Exercises In Kaliningrad To Overlap NATO Exercises

Russia: 40 Baltic Fleet Vessels, 3,500 Military Personnel Deployed For Military Exercises In Kaliningrad

Donald Standeford

Up to 40 Baltic Fleet vessels and over 3,500 Russian soldiers were deployed to Kaliningrad for exercises, according to Russian state news, citing the Ministry of Defense.

"In accordance with the training plan for the military command and control bodies of the Baltic Fleet forces for 2023, from June 5 to June 15, an operational exercise with Baltic Fleet groups began under the leadership of the Commander of the Baltic Fleet, Vice Admiral Vladimir Vorobyov, in the Baltic Sea and at the combat training ranges in the Kaliningrad Region," the ministry statement said.

Russia Reports Planned Flight Over Barents And Norwegian Seas, NATO Reports Scrambling Fighter Jets

Russia reported a "planned flight" over the Barents and Norwegian seas for around five hours. A report by The Barents Observer cited Spokesperson Marius Vågenes Villanger from the Norwegian Armed Forces as saying NATO F-35 fighter aircraft were scrambled between 8:30 and 11:00 Norwegian time to meet "a group of Russian military planes" flying west from the Kola Peninsula.

The report said that there were at least nine aircraft that flew to the western Barents Sea but then returned home before reaching the region where the USS Gerald R. Ford" was operating. 

It said that three Russian Tu-160 bombers, two Tu-95 bombers, one Il-78M tanker, and "at least one" MiG-31BM interceptor were spotted, adding that Villanger reported that there were two Tu-95 strategic bombers, two Il-78 tankers, and four MiG-31 jets, but said that the Norwegian pilots "did not see any Tu-160 bombers".

Russia: 40 Baltic Fleet Vessels, 3,500 Military Personnel Deployed For Military Exercises In Kaliningrad - MOSCOW - Up to 40 Baltic Fleet vessels and over 3,500 Russian soldiers were deployed to Kaliningrad for exercises, according to Russian state news, citing the Ministry of Defense. Read On News Platform | Read On Alert Platform.

"In accordance with the training plan for the military command and control bodies of the Baltic Fleet forces for 2023, from June 5 to June 15, an operational exercise with Baltic Fleet groups began under the leadership of the Commander of the Baltic Fleet, Vice Admiral Vladimir Vorobyov, in the Baltic Sea and at the combat training ranges in the Kaliningrad Region," the ministry statement said. 

The statement added that the fleet involved up to 40 surface ships, boats, and support vessels and included corvettes and patrol ships, as well as missile boats and vessels, 25 helicopters, and 3,500 troops.