SEVEROMORSK, FEBRUARY 17 (RIA Novosti) - The Northern Fleet is going on with a strategic command and staff troops control exercise. It has gone off fine in every aspect for today, says Vladimir Kuroyedov, in command of the Russian Navy.
The exercise will go on tomorrow. The practical part of the naval games, involving the Northern Fleet, started February 12. Commanding the basic forces of the Northern Fleet is the Chief of General Staff. Today, the cruiser Pyotr Veliky (Peter the Great) trained repulsing a ballistic missile attack. It was a success, according to preliminary reports and what commanding officers saw.
Federal President Vladimir Putin, as Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Armed Forces, went to sea yesterday with the "Arkhangelsk" missile-bearing submarine cruiser to see the exercise. The President communicated with the crew. Contract servicemen account for 92 per cent of the "Arkhangelsk" crew, Admiral Kuroyedov said to the media.
