Russian navy spokesman Igor Dygalo said the nuclear-powered Peter the Great cruiser accompanied by three other ships sailed from the Northern Fleet's base of Severomorsk on Monday. The ships will cover about 15,000 nautical miles to conduct joint maneuvers with the Venezuelan navy, he told The Associated Press.
I've mentioned I'm not exactly worried about this deployment. The Russian squadron would provide excellent target practice should it come to war. It isn't about war, of course, but attempting to tweak the United States. Lot's of luck with that. Even our State Department is with the program, according to the September 13th edition of The Economist:
The public respones from Washington has been a barely-stifled yawn. The State Department noted that if the Russians were indeed coming, then "they found a few ships that can make it that far."
Who knew our State Department had that in them?
The Russians may actually be able to carry out this deployment without needing a tow sometime during the cruise. But the crew will be glad to get back to Severomorsk without mishap, I dare say.
