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The Russian Navy is expected to receive more than 40 ships this year, Vladimir Putin said on Thursday.
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Putin says modernization of the Russian Navy will “dramatically improve its combat potential.”
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The Russian Navy suffered major losses during the war against Ukraine.
Russia has been working hard to strengthen its naval capabilities, the country’s leader Vladimir Putin said on Thursday.
“A lot has been done in this area, now that our navy is getting new ships,” Putin said at a meeting on shipbuilding issues, according to Russian state media outlet TASS.
The Russian Navy will receive more than 40 ships and boats this year, Putin said, up from 33 and 24 ships it received in 2023 and 2022, respectively.
The increase in naval capacity, according to Putin, is part of Russia’s broader plans to “fully upgrade the navy, including its naval, aircraft and coastal components, as well as the infrastructure of bases.”
He added that the Russian Navy’s upgrades will “strengthen its positions in the strategically crucial areas of the world ocean” and “drastically improve its combat potential.”
The move would certainly give a boost to the Russian Navy, which has suffered significant losses since the country invaded Ukraine in 2022.
In February, the head of the British Armed Forces, Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, said that 25% of Russian ships in the Black Sea had been sunk or damaged by Ukraine.
“Putin’s continued illegal occupation of Ukraine is exacting huge costs on Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, which is now functionally inactive,” British Defence Secretary Grant Shapps said a month later.
The Russian Defense Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment from BI sent outside regular business hours.
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