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Mr Putin heard a report from Northern Fleet Commander Mikhail Abramov on the exercises’ tactical plan in the morning.

The large anti-submarine cruiser Admiral Chabanenko opened the exercises by firing at training targets, launching missiles from the Kortik anti-aircraft artillery complex and the Kinzhal anti-aircraft missile complex. This was followed by firing from the Peter the Great and the destroyer Ushakov.

The Northern Fleet’s strategic missile-carrying submarine Yekaterinburg fired a Sineva intercontinental ballistic missile from an underwater position in the Barents Sea to the Kura testing ground in Kamchatka. The missile’s warheads successfully reached their target at the calculated time.

The President observed the training launches from the deck of the Peter the Great, accompanied by Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov and the commander of the Northern Fleet.

Following the exercises, Mr Putin heard a report from Naval Commander-in-Chief Admiral Mikhail Zakharenko on the navy’s operational and combat readiness plans and its development prospects for the period from 2010 to 2016.

Mr Putin then learned about the ship’s life support systems and viewed the missile shafts on Peter the Great. The President was also shown the ship’s sports room and the crew’s cabins.

Mr Putin spent several minutes talking with young sailors serving on board the ship. The President congratulated one of the officers on his birthday and presented him a presidential watch.

In the afternoon, Mr Putin observed the operations of deck aircraft from the heavy aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov, which was following a course parallel to that of the Peter the Great. Four Su-33 fighter planes completed fully the programme planned for the tactical exercises in the Barents Sea, taking off from and landing on the ship’s deck, demonstrating elements of a mid-air battle and performing aerobatic feats.

Speaking from the ship’s bridge on the way back to Severomorsk following the exercises, the President thanked all the Northern Fleet servicemen who took part in the exercises and fulfilled the missions they had been set.