Putin oversees the commissioning of warships and two nuclear submarines

Russian President Vladimir Putin participated Thursday in the commissioning ceremony of new warships and two nuclear submarines, and pledged to produce more, praising the capabilities of the Russian fleet.

Putin, who has avoided attending public events since the start of the Covid pandemic, gave the signal Thursday via video to raise the Russian flag on the new pieces.

Among them is the "General Suvorov", a submarine capable of launching atomic ballistic missiles.

Another submarine of the same class, named "Emperor Alexander III", has also been launched into the water, and sea trials will soon begin.

The ships also include a cruiser and a minesweeper.

"I stress that we will speed up and increase the volume of building ships of all kinds, and equipping them with the latest weapons systems," the Russian president said.

"In short, it is about doing everything to ensure Russia's security and our national interests in the world's oceans," he added.

And Vladimir Putin, who has been in power for nearly 23 years, has made rebuilding the Russian army a priority after its weakness in the 1990s following the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

He was keen to provide the armed forces with ultra-modern missiles, some of which exceed the speed of sound, as well as new ships and armored vehicles.

But these projects are also often very expensive, time-consuming and disrupted by technical problems but also by corruption.

Modernized but still poorly equipped and disorganised, Russia's forces have suffered numerous setbacks since Putin launched the offensive into Ukraine on February 24.

The Russian fleet in the Black Sea, stationed in the Ukrainian Crimea peninsula, which Moscow annexed in 2014, received a severe blow when Ukrainian forces managed to sink its main cruiser, "Moskva" in April.

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