Called “Maritime Security Strip 2024”, the exercises will begin on Tuesday, in the Gulf of Oman, reported the Spanish agency EFE.
The Russian naval force is led by the missile cruiser “Variag”, flagship of the Pacific Fleet, accompanied by the anti-submarine frigate “Marshal Shaposhnikov”.
“The practical part of the exercise will take place in the waters of the Gulf of Oman, in the Arabian Sea. The main objective of the maneuvers is to work to ensure the safety of maritime economic activities,” the Russian ministry said.
Representatives from the navies of Azerbaijan, India, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Oman and South Africa will participate in the exercises as observers.
This is the fifth Russian-Chinese-Iranian naval exercise held in the Gulf of Oman.
The arrival of the ships at the Iranian port coincided with news published in the Russian press about the dismissal of the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy, Admiral Nikolai Yevmov, following the sinking of several ships by Ukrainian naval drones (unmanned devices).
The daily Izvestia and the Fontanka portal reported on Sunday that Yevmov had been replaced by the commander-in-chief of the Northern Fleet, Admiral Alexander Moiseyev.
Kremlin (Russian presidency) spokesman Dmitri Peskov today refused to comment on the news.
“There are confidential decrees. I can’t comment on them. There were no public decrees on this subject”, explained Peskov.
The appointment of a new Russian fleet commander is normally announced by presidential decree.
If the replacement is confirmed, it will be an important remodeling within the Russian military command.
In two years of war, Ukraine achieved a series of successes in the Black Sea that allowed the reopening of a maritime corridor for the export of its cereals, defying Russia’s bombing threats.
The Ukrainian military said in early February that it had disabled about a third of Russian warships in the Black Sea.
