China News Agency, Moscow, July 31 (Tian Bing and Liu Jingyao) Russian President Vladimir Putin attended the Navy Day military parade held in St. Petersburg on July 31 and delivered a speech, pointing out that the newly approved Russian maritime doctrine specifies the borders and boundaries of Russia's national interests. In the region, Russia will firmly defend national interests and security.
According to the Kremlin's website, before the parade began, Putin signed a decree that approved the Russian Federation's maritime doctrine and the Russian Navy's ship regulations.
Afterwards, Putin, accompanied by Defense Minister Shoigu, Navy Commander Yevmenov, and Acting Commander of the Western Military Region Kochetkov, reviewed the naval fleet by speedboat.
According to tradition, more than 40 ships, 42 aircraft and more than 3,500 servicemen from the Northern Fleet, Pacific Fleet, Black Sea Fleet, Baltic Fleet and Caspian Fleet participated in the main parade on the Neva and Kronstadt.
In his speech, Putin first expressed his holiday congratulations to the active and retired Navy personnel and the public.
He said that the newly approved Russian Ocean Doctrine has openly pointed out the borders and areas of Russia's national interests, including economic and key strategic interests, among which the first is the Arctic waters, the Black Sea, the Sea of Okhotsk, the Bering Sea, the Baltic Sea and the Kuril Strait.
"We will firmly defend these areas at all costs."
Putin said the Russian navy "has the ability to strike back at lightning speed to anyone who deliberately violates our sovereignty and freedom, successfully and honorably accomplish strategic tasks on our borders and in any area of the world's oceans."
He also said that the Russian Navy is constantly improving itself and is on high alert to ensure Russia's security.
Russia's latest "Zircon" hypersonic missile system will be delivered to the Russian armed forces in the next few months, and the "Marshal Gorshkov" frigate will be the first to be equipped with the system to perform combat readiness duty.
"We need to take appropriate, prompt and decisive action in the current situation," he stressed.
On the same day, Navy Day celebrations were also held in Vladivostok, Baltisk, Severomorsk, Kaspisk and other places.
The mayor of Sevastopol said on social media that the Black Sea Fleet base in the city was attacked by a Ukrainian drone that morning, injuring five people.
The city's Navy Day celebrations were therefore canceled.
In 1696, Tsar Peter the Great set out to form a naval fleet, creating the history of the Russian navy.
In 1939, the Soviet government designated July 24 each year as Navy Day.
Since 1980, Navy Day has been changed to the last Sunday in July.
The Russian government has inherited this holiday tradition, and since 2017, every last Sunday in July, the Russian army has held a large-scale naval parade in St. Petersburg, which is officially called the "Naval Master Parade".
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