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Together with Zaliv Director General Igor Obrubov, the President installed a keel board for the Ivan Rogov general purpose assault ship.

Deputy Prime Minister Yury Borisov, Deputy Defence Minister Alexei Krivoruchko, Commander-in-Chief of the Navy Nikolai Yevmenov likewise did the same for the ship Mitrofan Moskalenko.

The head of state watched, via videoconference, the keel-laying event for the Voronezh and Vladivostok nuclear submarines in Severodvinsk, as well as the Admiral Yumashev and Admiral Spiridonov frigates in St Petersburg. General Director of PO Sevmash Mikhail Budnichenko and Minister of Industry and Trade Denis Manturov delivered reports.

Following the ceremony, Vladimir Putin spoke with the shipyard workers.

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Remarks at the keel-laying ceremony for new warships

President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Good afternoon, friends.

Comrades,

I would like to congratulate you and your colleagues from St Petersburg and Severodvinsk on this grand event, a very important and significant step in the development of the Navy.

Today, the keel-laying of six new open-ocean vessels is in process at three leading shipyards in Russia simultaneously. Here in Kerch, we have two general purpose assault ships, at Severnaya Verf in St Petersburg, two frigates, and at Sevmash in Severodvinsk, two nuclear cruiser submarines.

Traditionally, the new generation assault ships and frigates will bear the names of our illustrious military leaders and naval commanders who have done a lot to strengthen the Russian Navy. I am referring to the Ivan Rogov, Mitrofan Moskalenko, Admiral Yumashev and Admiral Spiridonov. The two nuclear submarines have been named after two cities of military glory, Voronezh and Vladivostok.

The new ships will have advanced weapons, controls and communication systems. They will significantly strengthen the combat potential of the Navy and enhance its strategic capabilities.

The Navy has always reliably defended Russia’s borders. Today, it continues to play a critically important role in ensuring Russia’s security, dependably defends our national interests, and helps maintain a strategic balance and stability worldwide.

About 60 Russian ships and support vessels are patrolling the World Ocean’s key areas with almost half of them patrolling remote sea areas. Long sea voyages and the show of the Russian flag have been held on an ongoing basis lately.

Russia has one of the world’s longest coastlines and access to three oceans, so we will continue to focus on a modern and combat-ready Navy, and to build ships fitted out with advanced weapons and equipment.

I would like to note that the Navy has received over 200 ships, motor boats and vessels of various classes over the past eight years. It is important to continue to consistently implement the State Armament Programme to make sure that the share of modern ships in the Navy exceeds 70 percent by 2027.

This is a major assignment for the Russian shipbuilders. The industry’s enterprises already have orders for years to come. We must make the most of your strong scientific, industrial and human potential to create advanced ships of all types.

Please accept my heartfelt thanks to you and your colleagues for your honest work. We are proud of the professionalism and skills of the people who are building our Navy in Kerch, Severodvinsk, St Petersburg, Kaliningrad, Bolshoi Kamen, Vladivostok, Nizhny Novgorod, Zelenodolsk and Astrakhan, as well as other enterprises.

Thanks to you – shipbuilders and Navy sailors ̶ our country is among the world's leading maritime powers, and Russian ships are effectively dealing with a wide variety of assignments. This is the way it should be and will always be.

I am confident that your work teams will complete the assignments with high quality and on time.

I wish you every success, and I also wish dignified service for the benefit of Russia to the future crews of the ships that you are starting to build.

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Vladimir Putin: Colleagues,

Once again, I congratulate you on today's keel-laying ceremony and wish you every success.

Thank you.