What You Need to Know: Russia recently conducted its largest naval drills since the start of the Ukraine war, codenamed OKEAN-24. 

-However, Russian media exaggerated the exercise's scale, claiming over 400 vessels participated, though the fleet consists of only around 300. The exercise spanned multiple bodies of water, including the Barents and Caspian Seas, but avoided the Black Sea due to Ukrainian attacks.

-The drills aim to showcase Russia's naval reach and resilience, although its current capabilities fall short of the media's inflated reports.

Russia’s Largest Naval Drills Since Ukraine War Met With Skepticism

The Russian Navy launched the largest naval drills since the war in Ukraine began almost three years ago.

Although it has suffered serious losses in the fighting, the Russian fleet remains a sizeable force—but perhaps not as sizable as Moscow would like you to believe.

OKEAN-24 and the Russian Navy

In its latest estimate of the war, the British Military Intelligence discussed the Russian Navy’s large-scale naval exercise, the first after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. 

In the second week of September, the Russian Navy conducted OKEAN-24,  a large-scale strategic exercise with dozens of warships and logistical vessels participating. This followed a two-year pause on any large-scale exercises by the Russian armed forces,

“Up until 2022, Russia would conduct an annual exercise involving all its armed forces-the Joint Strategic Exercise (JSE)-but the last two have been cancelled almost certainly as a consequence of the demands of the war in Ukraine,” the British Military Intelligence assessed. 

The Russian naval forces have played a supporting role in the conflict. However, despite the fact that it has encountered almost no peer action on the seas—the Ukrainian Navy doesn’t have any significant surface warfare capabilities—the Russian Navy has lost permanently or temporarily almost 30 surface warships, submarines, and logistical vessels.

“OKEAN-24 was likely an effort to demonstrate reach and capability in spite of the war,” the British Military Intelligence added.

Russian media highlighted the naval exercise and the forces participating. And as is customary with Russian reporting, the media exaggerated the number of forces involved. For example, Russian media reports suggested that OKEAN-24 would involve over 400 surface combatants, submarines, and logistical vessels, 120 aircraft, 7,000 vehicles, and 90,000 personnel. Moreover, the reports indicated that the exercise would take place in six different bodies of water: the Barents Sea, the Baltic Sea, the Mediterranean Sea, the Caspian Sea, the Pacific Ocean, and the Arctic Ocean.

However, the truth brings a more conservative assessment of Russian naval capabilities. To begin with, the current Russian naval force has around 300 vessels, combatants, and support ships. Moreover, the Russian military would be hard-pressed to commit over 100 aircraft in a naval exercise while Ukrainian drones and missiles penetrate Russian airspace at regular intervals, destroying high-value military targets.

“The exercise did operate in these areas, but Russia has almost certainly grossly exaggerated these figures as there are currently only around 300 vessels available to take part,” the British Military Intelligence stated.

It is unclear if the Russian media reports included friendly units—such as Chinese ships—in their totals. Recently, the Russian and Chinese navies have been conducting joint exercises in the Indo-Pacific Ocean.

“No OKEAN-2024 activity took place in the Black Sea, highly likely because of Ukrainian attacks in the first six months of 2024,” the British Military Intelligence concluded.

The Black Sea has turned into the graveyard of the Russian Navy. In the first weeks of the war, it lost the Moskva guided-missile heavy cruiser and flagship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet. Thereafter, the Russian naval forces started losing ship after ship to clever Ukrainian long-range air and naval attacks. As a result, the Russian Black Sea Fleet has been keeping to its ports in a desperate attempt to salvage the ships left.

About the Author: 

Stavros Atlamazoglou is a seasoned defense journalist specializing in special operations and a Hellenic Army veteran (national service with the 575th Marine Battalion and Army HQ). He holds a BA from the Johns Hopkins University and an MA from the Johns Hopkins’ School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). His work has been featured in Business Insider, Sandboxx, and SOFREP.

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