Russia has claimed that one of its corvettes has sunk a mock enemy ship with a cruise missile during a military exercise.

The footage purports to show the Russian corvette firing the missile into the air.

The images were obtained from the Russian Ministry of Defence on Wednesday, September 20, along with a statement claiming: 'In the waters of the Chukotka and Bering Seas, as well as on the Chukotka Peninsula, tactical exercises of the Pacific Fleet forces continue under the name 'Finval-2023' with the goal of protecting the communications of the Northern Sea Route.

'These exercises are being conducted under the leadership of Admiral Nikolay Evmenov, the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy.

'One of the episodes of the exercise involved launching a missile strike against a hypothetical enemy ship that had approached the border of Russian territorial waters in the Anadyr Gulf of the Bering Sea. The task of eliminating the intruder, which had entered the Anadyr Gulf of the Bering Sea, was assigned to the crew of the corvette 'Gremyashchiy', equipped with cruise missiles 'Kalibr'.

'The Pacific Fleet sailors successfully carried out the orders, conducting missile firing at a naval target located more than 300 kilometres from the launch point.

'According to objective monitoring data, the missile precisely hit its target. The results of the successful firing were reported to the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy.

'The crew of the corvette 'Gremyashchiy', which has been performing tasks as part of the Pacific Fleet for two years, demonstrated high training and skill in conducting missile firing.

'Approximately 10,000 military personnel and over 50 units of military equipment, including surface ships and support vessels, submarines, aircraft, and helicopters of naval aviation, coastal missile complexes 'Bal' and 'Bastion', as well as wheeled and tracked high-mobility armoured vehicles, are involved in the 'Finval-2023' tactical exercise.

'During the manoeuvres, successful launches of cruise missiles were carried out against a complex target position in the northeastern part of the Bering Sea, interception of cruise missiles, and a series of other combat exercises. All episodes of the exercise have a defensive nature and are aimed at improving the preparedness of forces and troops for actions on the northeastern borders of Russia.'


Russia invaded Ukraine on 24th February 2022 in what the Kremlin is still calling a 'special military operation'.