MOSCOW. Jan 21 (Interfax-AVN) - Eight warships and support vessels of the Black Sea, Baltic and North Fleets are taking part in Russian Navy exercises, which started on Saturday, a representative of the Russian Defense Ministry press service told Interfax-AVN.
"An inter-fleet force of the Russian Navy started exercises in the Black and Mediterranean Seas on Saturday under the supervision of the Russian Armed Forces General Staff," he said.
"The largest exercises in the past decades involve warships of the Black Sea, Baltic and North Fleets: the guard missile-carrying cruiser Moskva, the large anti-sub ship Severomorsk, the patrol ships Smetlivy and Yaroslav Mudry, the large landing ships Saratov, Azov, Kaliningrad and Alexander Shabalin, special purpose and support ships, as well as long-range aviation and the fourth Air Force/Air Defense command," he said.
"The primary objective of the exercises is to verify the readiness of military command and the inter-fleet force to accomplish missions in a distant sea zone," the source said.
"The exercises will last until January 29, 2013. The Russian sailors will have more than 60 training missions, including missile and artillery shooting exercises, in the Black and Mediterranean Seas," he said.