Russian Navy's Pacific Drills Receive Praise and Criticism from Putin and Japan

Russian President Vladimir Putin praised the military's performance during massive naval drills that have involved the entire Russian Pacific Fleet, which began on Friday and involves 167 warships, including 12 submarines, 89 aircraft, and 25,000 troops. The drills were intended to "test the Pacific Fleet’s readiness to repel aggression" and included nuclear-capable long-range strategic bombers flying over the central part of the Pacific Ocean to imitate strikes against groups of enemy ships. The Defense Ministry has declared that sectors in the southern part of the Sea of Okhotsk, the Peter the Great Bay of the Sea of Japan, and the Avacha Bay on the southeastern coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula would be closed to sea and air traffic for the duration of practice torpedo and missile launches and artillery exercises.