This page has been archived and commenting is disabled.
Russian Warship Flotilla Enters English Channel For Military Exercises
The French delivery of two Mistral ships to Russia may be postponed indefinitely (a move which ultimately would cost Hollande over $4 billion in contract breach penalty fees he simply can't afford to pay), but that doesn't mean the Russian navy has been hobbled or is hiding in the corner. To the contrary: according to the following tweet from the UK Ministry of Defense, Russia's navy is getting quite bolder.
Four Russian ships escorted through Dover Strait from North Sea by @RoyalNavy HMS Tyne this morning. Ships have left UK waters.
— Ministry of Defence (@DefenceHQ) November 28, 2014
What happened?
As Bloomberg reports, at least 4 vessels which departed the Russian Northern Fleet main base on November 20, led by anti-submarine ship Severomorsk, entered English channel for exercises that include anti-sabotage training, damage control in case of fire and water intake, state-run news service RIA Novosti says, citing statement from Navy.
Reuters confirms that a squadron of Russian warships entered the English Channel on Friday to hold exercises, RIA news agency reported, the latest apparent show of military might since ties with the West plunged to Cold War lows over Ukraine.
RIA quoted the Northern Fleet as saying its vessels, led by anti-submarine ship Severomorsk, had passed through the Strait of Dover and were now in international waters in the Seine Bay to wait for a storm to pass.
"While it is anchored the crew are undertaking a series of exercises on how to tackle ... infiltrating submarine forces and are training on survival techniques in the case of flooding or fire," RIA quoted the Northern Fleet as saying in a statement.
The Russian navy could not reached for comment and the Defence Ministry declined to comment on the report.
The Russian navy frigate Smolny is seen at the STX Les Chantiers
de l'Atlantique shipyard site in Saint-Nazaire, western France, November 25, 2014
Naturally, NATO - afraid of looking even weaker than it is - was quick to downplay the incident since a lack of retaliation would make the defensive alliance appear quite prone to "penetrations" by Russian forces:
France's navy confirmed the location of the ships and said it was not unusual to have Russian warships in the Channel.
"They are not holding exercises. They’re just waiting in a zone where they can be several times a year," said the French Navy's information service.
Lieutenant-Colonel Jay Janzen, NATO's military spokesman, also said the alliance was aware of the Russian ships' location.
"Our information indicates that the ships are transiting and have been delayed by weather conditions. They are not exercising in the Channel, as some Russian headlines would have us believe," he said.
And if they were in fact "exercising" it would simply mean that NATO exercises in the Black Sea miles away from the Russian coast, are finally being met in kind by a Russia which with every passing day is making it clear its "concern" of western reprisals and retaliation to Russian actions, which in turn are a consequence of NATO expansion eastward, is increasingly more negligible.
»
- 16262 reads
- Printer-friendly version
- Send to friend
- advertisements -
I think it's relative. In the US, we have to look up to look down.
So many pro Russian stories. Why doesn't this site have a .ru ?
Just a few days ago, I think there was a story celebrating the boarding of the Russian crew. Now, the Russians don't care?
By the way I really don't care either way, but it does put all the Western focused financial sector doom and gloom, as reported by this site, into focus.
I do believe the West is crushing itself with stupidity, but at least I can take ZH with a grain of salt like all the other biased reporting.
So many pro Russian stories. Why doesn't this site have a .ru ?
Just a few days ago, I think there was a story celebrating the boarding of the Russian crew. Now, the Russians don't care?
By the way I really don't care either way, but it does put all the Western focused financial sector doom and gloom, as reported by this site, into focus.
I do believe the West is crushing itself with stupidity, but at least I can take ZH with a grain of salt like all the other biased reporting.
The workers at DCNS were also cheering Russian sailors, 400 of them who are training on the vessel and keeping DCNS workers fed and clothed
A drop in the bucket compared to the pro American crap stories we hear all the time on mainstream media, accompanied by the cheesy feel good music
I guess because the Russians are proving they are about the only professional military force left?
Well that is a marked improvement for the Royal Navy !!!! In 1941 they did not notice when Scharnhorst, Gneisenau and Prinz Eugen slipped out of St Nazaire and sailed through The Channel.....
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Channel_Dash
That was very unkind of you to point that out. But they were going in the opposite direction.
As pointed out this is probably the escort group for the carrier, planned months ago. Hope the French have got the carrier's ignition key in a safe place or there might be a 'breakout'.
Didn't they sail from Brest under bad weather covered by anti radar and Adolf Galland's fighter cover?
France said this was not unusual while NATO’s grumbling and sticking its beak in tends to make it look worse, The way everyone keeps talking and arguing makes matters worse seriously do any of us want another cold war? if we keep on harrassing Putin which is American inspired it seems quite likely to happen
Soviet sailors are proud drunks indeed! I never met a more professional nor more inebriated navy.
Go Soviet sailors!!!
I've heard about guys who follow sailors around, buy them beer and get them drunk.
Still working for you?
Soviet sailors maintain their extraordinarily high levels of morale by laundering all clothes in seawater nets towed behind their vessels.
Salty clothes make happy, comfortable sailors!
It kinda makes you wonder.
I think France was going to deliver the Mistral, but Russia's good friend, India, sure sweetened the deal.