Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced his country´s intention to continue working to modernize the navy.
On the occasion of the Russian Navy Day, Putin said in St. Petersburg on Sunday that 62% of weapons and equipment had already been updated in the Russian navy.
"It is the duty of the state to expand the naval force," Putin was quoted by the TASS news agency as saying. "This is a necessary condition for strengthening the security of Russia and its people."
The Russian Navy Day is traditionally celebrated with reviews in several coastal cities in July of each year. The reviews include the presentation of warships and the presentation of military exercises, and the central ceremony is held in the city of St. Petersburg.
A ceremony was also held in the coastal Syrian city of Tartous, used by Russia as a military base to supply supplies to Russian troops involved in the Syrian war.
Putin spoke earlier with the survivors of a submarine crew for marine and deep-sea research, which came under fire earlier this month, killing 14 sailors. The Russian Defense Ministry said the fire broke out when the team planned to conduct measurements at the seabed in the north of the country commissioned by the Russian navy.
