VLADIVOSTOK, August 7. /TASS/. Ship minesweeper groups of the Russian Pacific Fleet have cleared minefields in the waters of the Sea of Japan and the Sea of Okhotsk, as well as in the Avacha Bay in the Pacific Ocean during naval drills, the fleet’s press service stated.

"According to the exercise scenario, a simulated enemy deployed minefields along the presumed deployment route of the Pacific Fleet’s ships. Ship minesweeper groups, consisting of the minesweepers Anatoly Shlemov, Pyotr Ilyichev, and Yakov Balyayev, MT-265, as well as the base minesweepers BT-100 and BT-256, operating in different directions and in coordination with the Pacific Fleet’s naval aviation, practiced mine detection and sweeping using contact and non-contact minesweeping gear," the statement says.

According to the press service, the mock mines identified on the water surface were eliminated by precision artillery fire. The minesweepers crews’ actions secured safe passage through mine-threatened areas along the transit routes for various ship formations to begin executing the assigned tasks in the designated areas.

Since August 4, the Pacific Fleet has been carrying out an exercise with troops to defend the maritime borders, island zones, and coastal territories of Russia’s Far East. The exercise is being conducted in a bilateral format under the direction of Pacific Fleet Commander Admiral Viktor Liin, and is the Pacific Fleet’s main operational and combat training event for 2026. The maneuvers include approximately 60 surface ships, submarines, and support vessels, about 30 aircraft, helicopters, and unmanned aerial systems of the Pacific Fleet’s naval aviation, as well as over 13,000 service members.