The commander of the Pacific Fleet, Admiral Serhiy Avakyants, has been fired less than a week after a surprise review of combat training, The Moscow Times reports.

Avakyants has been transferred to a new position – chief of staff for military and sports training and patriotic education, said Yurii Trutnev, vice-prime minister and president’s representative in the Far Eastern Federal District.

“The preparatory period is coming to an end, during which we created a centralized structure that will methodically support the activities of regional centers and coordinate their work. Admiral Avakyants, who until recently commanded the Pacific Fleet, will head this central structure, which is, in fact, the headquarters for the implementation of the task set by the president,” Trutnev said.

Less than a week ago, the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation Serhiy Shoigu announced a sudden inspection of the Pacific Fleet of the Russian Federation. The main task of the inspection, which was led by the commander of the Russian Navy, Admiral Mykola Yevmenov, was to “strengthen the ability” to repel aggression from a possible enemy.

An admiral who has commanded the Pacific Fleet for more than a decade

According to Shoigu, 25,000 soldiers, 167 combat and auxiliary ships, including 12 submarines, as well as airplanes and helicopters, took part in the maneuvers.

“The main purpose of this inspection is to increase the ability of the Armed Forces to repel the aggression of a potential enemy from the ocean and the sea,” Shoigu said in an intervention on state television.

According to the results of the review of the Russian fleet in the Pacific Ocean, Vladimir Putin stated during the meeting with Shoigu that the Armed Forces prefer the Ukrainian direction, but “no one cancels the task of developing the Navy.”

Admiral Avakyants was appointed commander of the Russian Pacific Fleet in May 2012, and before that he worked at the headquarters of the Northern Fleet and first deputy commander of the Pacific Fleet. In December 2014, he received the rank of admiral.

Defense system of Kamchatka, tested for the first time

During a surprise inspection of the fleet, Russia tested the modernized defense system of Kamchatka for the first time, sources in the Ministry of Defense told Izvestia.

According to them, the defense system of the peninsula has demonstrated high reliability and efficiency in protecting the coast from both air and sea attacks.

Also, for the first time, the Russian military tested the ability of all submarines to leave the bases in Kamchatka and tested their security all the way to the target areas.

The Kremlin described the fleet inspection as “ordinary military training and routine practice” unrelated to NATO expansion.

Vladimir Putin threatens to use the Russian fleet

Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed with Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu the possibility of using Russian naval forces in various directions in connection with the situation with the country’s “tumultuous environment” in many directions, TASS reports.

“Our environment is very turbulent in many areas, saturated with conflict situations, regional conflicts. We all know the geography of these regional conflicts well. This is what it was all about,” Kremlin spokesman Dmytro Peskov explained Putin’s words on Monday.

He stated that the President of Russia met with Serhii Soigu on Sunday and Monday.

“Actually, Putin also met with Shoigu yesterday and today [ministrul Apărării] he was on the report,” Dmytro Peskov explained.

His comments came after Russian state media reported that during Putin’s meeting with the head of the Russian armed forces, the Russian president noted that, among other things, the country’s naval forces “of course can be used in conflicts, in any direction “. “

Putin also asked Shoigu to take this into account.

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