- Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that the Russian Navy is set to receive more than 40 ships this year.
- Putin said the Russian Navy’s upgrades will “dramatically improve its combat capabilities.”
- Russia’s war against Ukraine has caused heavy losses for the Russian Navy.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that the country is working hard to strengthen its naval forces.
“A lot is being done in this area and the Navy has new ships,” Putin said at a meeting on shipbuilding issues, according to the Russian state news agency TASS.
Putin said the Russian Navy is set to receive more than 40 ships this year, up from the 33 and 24 it received in 2023 and 2022, respectively.
Putin said the naval expansion was part of a broader Russian plan to “strengthen the Navy in a comprehensive way, including ships, aircraft, coastal forces and base infrastructure.”
He added that strengthening the Russian Navy would “strengthen Russia’s position in strategically vital regions of the world’s oceans” and dramatically improve its “combat capabilities.”
The move would certainly give a boost to the Russian Navy, which has endured heavy losses since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.
In February, Britain’s military chief, Admiral Tony Radakin, said 25 percent of Russian ships in the Black Sea had been “sunk or damaged” by Ukraine.
“President Putin’s continued illegal occupation of Ukraine is causing great harm to Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, which is now effectively inactive,” British Defence Secretary Grant Shapps said a month later.
The Russian Defense Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent by BI outside normal business hours.
