Navy forces land at Franz Josef Land as part of exercise Zapad-2025
Large areas in the Barents Sea have been sealed off as Russia and Belarus start their major joint exercise.
In a video posted on Telegram, the Northern Fleet shows off how it retakes positions from imagined enemy forces on Aleksandra Land, one the islands at the Arctic archipelago.
A helicopter brings marines from the destroyer Severomorsk to land, while special underwater forces dive into the waters from speed boats. A mine clearing vehicle opens a safe passage for troops from landing ship Aleksandr Otrakovsky and five Vityaz DT-30 all-terrain vehicles make it deeper into the island.
It is a well-staged video aimed at displaying strength and frightening adversaries.
“The personnel involved in the exercise demonstrated a high level of combat readiness and successfully practiced joint tactics during combat operations involving the landing of marines on an unequipped coastline in the Arctic,” the Northern Fleet reports.
Russia has over the last ten years significantly strengthened its military presence at Franz Josef Land, the country’s northernmost archipelago. The Nagurskoye base now includes an airfield and facilities for a significant number of troops. The Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard is about 400 km away.
The training at Franz Josef Land started shortly before Zapad-2025, the major Russian-Belarus strategic exercise that officially started on September 12. Drills are planned not only on shooting ranges in Belarus, but also in the Baltic Sea and the Barents Sea, the Russian armed forces inform.
Shortly after the troops were landed in Franz Josef Land, the Navy reported that several ships had set out from the Northern Fleet bases in the Kola Peninsula. Among them were destroyers Marshal Ustinov and Admiral Levchenko and frigates Admiral Golovko, mine sweepers and submarines.
Major areas in the Barents Sea have been closed off in connection with the drills. Russian authorities have issued NOTAMs and warnings to ships across the region, including an area south of the Franz Josef Land.
According to the warnings, there will be ‘missile shooting’ in a four-day period starting from September 12.
Warnings also apply to several other areas in the Barents Sea and along the Kola Peninsula.
According to the Russian war ministry, the objectives of the exercise are to “improve the skills of commanders and staffs, and heighten the level of interaction and field training of regional and coalition troops in solving joint tasks to maintain peace, protect interests and ensure military security.”
The exercise, which will include at least 13,000 thousand troops, comes amidst Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and the loss of several hundred thousand Russian men.
The Zapad-2025 is reported to include participation of forces also from several more countries, including Iran and India. It is not clear whether the foreign troops will take part in drills in the Barents Sea.
In the run-up to the exercise, tensions between Russia and western neighbors have spiked following Russia’s launch of drones into Polish air space.
The exercise is the first Zapad-exercise since Russia’s full scale attack on Ukraine. The previous exercise of the kind, the Zapad-2021, reportedly included about 200,000 troops.
