Russian President Putin has enacted a new naval doctrine, which will provide hypersonic weapons for ships and an upgrade of Crimea’s status.

Russian President Vladimir Putin put a new naval doctrine into effect at a parade of warships in St. Petersburg, according to which the United States and NATO are the “greatest threats to Russia’s national security.” Specifically, Washington’s “strategic goal of dominating the world’s oceans” and the “rapprochement of NATO’s military infrastructure to the Russian borders” are named as dangers.

Moscow also wants to strengthen its position in the Arctic, ensuring “strategic stability” by expanding the North and Pacific fleets. The aim is to develop a “safe and competitive” sea route from Europe to Asia in the Arctic and to make it navigable all year round. The so-called Northeast Passage runs along the Arctic coast of Russia.

The document signed by Putin at the “Naval Forces Day” also stipulates that the military infrastructure on the Crimea annexed Black Sea peninsula should be expanded. In addition, the construction of modern aircraft carriers is planned.

At the same time, Putin announced that the new hypersonic sea missile “Zirkon” would soon be ready for service. Delivery of the missiles will begin in the next few months, with the frigate “Admiral Gorshkov” being the first to be equipped with them. Hypersonic weapons have a multiple speed of sound of around 343 meters per second.

At the performance in front of thousands of spectators, Putin did not directly address the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine. He thanked the Navy for its missions, which it has carried out for centuries, and praised its high level of defence readiness. Russia also has numerous warships deployed in the Black Sea for its attacks on Ukraine.

Image by Wikimedia (The Russian Presidential Press and Information Office) Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)