MOSCOW, Aug. 4 (Xinhua) -- The Russian Pacific Fleet on Tuesday kicked off large-scale military drills in the waters of the Sea of Japan, the Sea of Okhotsk and the Northwest Pacific Ocean, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement.
The drills are aimed at defending Russia's Far Eastern borders. Ship groups and missile systems have been deployed to designated maneuver zones, said the statement.
According to the ministry, the exercises are designed to test the capability of command staff across various units and to practice the integrated employment of high-precision weapons and new-generation military hardware.
More than 13,000 service personnel, around 60 warships, submarines and support vessels, together with some 30 fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters and Pacific Fleet naval aviation drone systems are taking part in the maneuvers, the ministry added. ■