Interview by Aide to the President of Russia and Chairman of the Maritime Board of the Russian Federation Nikolay Patrushev to RIA Novosti (July 26, 2025)

Our Navy has always been a key component and basis of Russia’s maritime potential, a most important instrument for maintaining its security. The Navy guarantees defence of the Russian national interests in the World Ocean and is engaged in keeping military and political stability on the global and regional levels. In his interview with RIA Novosti, Presidential Aide and Chairman of the Maritime Board of the Russian Federation Nikolay Patrushev talked about the current condition of the Russian Navy, about the readiness of the navy sailors to fight back against NATO threats and about the importance of knowing the great history of our Navy. The interview was conducted by Vladimir Sychyov.

— Mr. Patrushev, we are talking on the eve of Russian Navy Day. How do you think our Navy is approaching its professional holiday?

— I will answer your question with an extract from the famous Navy march: "The Naval Guards march with confidence, they can face any danger. Tested in battle, tested in fire. The Naval Guard is trouble for enemies.” The Russian Navy can provide for the national security in all sea and ocean areas in any scenario.

The Navy Development Strategy up to 2050 has been prepared by the Maritime Board and was approved by the President on May 30, 2025.

To implement it, an updated programme of navy shipbuilding until 2050 has been drafted to be submitted for President’s endorsement in September. Its key feature should be planning of the entire life cycle of each ship, ensuring independence from import and technological sovereignty of domestic shipbuilding. In a word, Russian Navy is developing in the correct way.

— By the way, on Thursday, a new powerful ship joined the Navy — the nuclear-powered strategic missile submarine cruiser Knyaz Pozharsky.

— Indeed, the nuclear-powered submarine cruiser Knyaz Pozharsky of the Borei-A Project has passed all the testing stages and joined the Navy. The submarine departed the Sevmash dockyard in February 2024.

The plant has built the 142nd nuclear submarine over its entire history. That’s impressive. Actually, the plant has built more than two thirds of the country’s nuclear submarine fleet. Four standard nuclear submarines of the Borei-A Project — Knyaz Vladimir, Knyaz Oleg, Generalissimus Suvorov and Emperor Alexander III — are already performing their intended tasks in the Northern and Pacific Fleets. Nuclear submarines Knyaz Potyomkin and Dmitry Donskoy have been laid down and are at different stages of completion.

Russia’s nuclear shield is the best guarantee of our country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. And the addition of a new nuclear submarine cruiser to our Navy testifies to a constant strengthening of such shied.

As for the Westerners who like to talk about the need to move from cold to hot war with Russia, I would like to remind them that our naval strategic nuclear forces continuously perform combat patrols and are ready to deliver strikes at designated targets. Submarines with powerful armament are capable of cooling down any hot heads.

— As history shows, the availability of a potent Navy for our country is an indispensable condition for protecting Russian national interests at all times, notwithstanding the international situation.

— You are right. In view of this, the threats emanating from our country’s potential enemies are taken into account in the Russian plans of military construction, including the Navy development.

I can see in person the high combat readiness of our Navy and the professionalism of our sailors when I visit naval bases and ships, and talk to officers, warrant officers and sailors.

Russia is prepared to resolutely and effectively ward off military threats at sea, including in the context of the NATO plans to destabilise the situation in the Baltic and Black seas. Meanwhile, the Navy protects our national interests not only close to our shores. We pay special attention to deploying the Navy in various areas of the World Ocean. We have secured our presence in the eastern Mediterranean, in the center of the Pacific Ocean as well as near the southern part of the Kuril Islands. We are expanding joint patrolling and naval exercises with the naval groups of foreign countries in operationally sensitive areas. We carried out cruises to the South China Sea, the Philippine Sea and the Red Sea, to the Straits of Singapore and Malacca, the Gulf of Aden and the Caribbean in order to protect Russian maritime navigation and counter piracy.

— You have mentioned NATO. In general, to what extent does the alliance threaten Russia today from sea?

— The risks involved are very high. NATO is increasingly active in creating military threats to Russia right at sea. We can see greater presence of ship groups, large-scale naval exercises in the adjacent sea areas, and high intensity of applying reconnaissance equipment. We observe operational and combat training activities of national and joint armed forces with an anti-Russia bias in the Northeastern Atlantic, in the Greenland-Norwegian sea zone, in Norway, Finland and Sweden. They build up their rapid reaction troops of the NATO Allied Forces in Poland, Baltic countries and in the Baltic Sea area.

We see permanent combat patrolling by UK and French nuclear submarines with ballistic missiles in remote ocean areas, and patrols of UK and US nuclear attack submarines in the sea waters adjacent to the Russian Federation.

In other words, current actions by NATO look very much like a scenario of a full-scale aggression against our country.

— NATO leadership does not seem to see any adversary other than Russia. The alliance’s Secretary General Mark Rutte said in London recently that unless the bloc’s members raise military spending to five percent of their GDP, their residents will have to learn Russian.

— Learning foreign languages is a useful thing. The knowledge of Russian could help NATO members to finally take in Russian President’s remarks that our country is not going to attack NATO nations. It actually makes no sense, whereas all those bogeyman stories are meant to distract Europe’s population from the miserable state the EU countries economies are facing. One can speak any language save that of force, threats or blackmail.

— The Russian Foreign Intelligence Service reported recently that London along with the Kiev regime is making up devious provocations in the Baltic Sea. One of the scenarios imitates a Russian torpedo attack on a US naval vessel. Under another scenario, Russian-made anchor mines are to be retrieved from the Baltic Sea waters.  

— This information commands closest attention, especially given that the British are very good at this sort of provocations. London has acquired abundant experience of false-flag operations throughout centuries so as to pit different countries against each other. The analysis of the situation once again testifies to London’s major destructive role in the Ukraine conflict and to the fact that the Kiev regime is a submissive obedient performer in the British hands.  

At present, it is UK’s attempt to play two major nuclear powers against each other so as to undermine the Russian-American negotiating process and persuade Washington to continue providing full-scale military assistance to the Kiev regime. I do not rule out that London, if needed, would easily backstab Washington, too. I take it the White House is aware of what sort of an “ally” they are dealing with.  

— One of the Western news agencies laid out a scenario of an allegedly possible conflict between NATO and Russia in the Baltic area.  

— Let this hoax remain in the conscience of its authors. Russia is not striving for confrontation yet it will protect its national interests and the security of its citizens with all possible means. Any attempts to test our combat readiness will get a prompt and tough response. The responsibility for possible repercussions will be entirely with the alliance’s leadership.  

Regarding the Baltic region and its militarisation, what stands out is Germany’s plan to set up, together with the UK and France, a group in the Baltic capable of standing up to the Russian Navy without assistance from other NATO countries, including the United States. Currently, the Federal Republic of Germany is energetically upgrading its naval force. In addition, the Germany-UK“friendship treaty” inked last week is in essence a treaty on military, naval and military-technical cooperation with an obvious anti-Russia slant.  

— It looks like the Germans are itching to restore their dominance in Europe. German chancellor Friedrich Merz said recently that the German army must become the strongest on the continent so as to confront Russia. Are we expected to see a new Kriegsmarine?

— History shows that Russian and Soviet sailors used to aptly beat both Keisermarine and Kriegsmarine. Not long ago I visited Dikson. Its defenders during the war virtually sent the first-class German cruiser Admiral Scheer flying by using only items they had on hand. This should be remembered by the German chancellor, current Bundesmarine leaders as well other NATO nations which rushed to build their own fleets in the Baltic in the past years – I mean primarily Swedes, Finns and Danes. I was an observer at the Baltic Fleet drill and I can say that Russia’s Navy shows a high level of expertise including in protecting sea lines of communications and fighting enemy’s unmanned surface vehicles and submarines.

I should note that Merz made that remark several days after the 80th Victory anniversary which sounds abhorrent to any sane person. The chancellor should remember that it was Germany that kick-started the two World Wars using most absurd pretexts to justify its aggression and crimes against humanity. Tales of Russia’s cyber-attacks, damaged undersea cables, alleged acts of sabotage and assassinations in Germany, used to justify yet another militarisation of Germany, are custom-tailored in the best traditions of Goebbels-style propaganda.

— To support your remark on Western Russophobic propagandists, the US Army Europe and Africa Commander said while in Germany that NATO already had a plan, as he put it, “to take [the Kaliningrad Region] down from the ground in a timeframe that is unheard of and faster than we've ever been able to do."

— We have been long aware of the Westerners’ plans concerning Kaliningrad. I can comment on them in the only possible way. The Kaliningrad Region is an inalienable part of Russia, and any military encroachment on it will be countered with a prompt and devastating response with all the means and forces we have in accordance with the Military Doctrine and the Fundamentals of the State Policy in Nuclear Deterrence. Russia has all necessary military instruments to safeguard the security of the Kaliningrad Region.

Apparently, threats to the Kaliningrad Region is another testament to NATO member-states aspirations to militarily violate Russia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. Let us keep in mind that former EastPrussia that used to be on that territory, had been for centuries a source of the most aggressive and inhumane militarism that was undermining the security of entire Europe. It was there that the notorious Drang nach Osten plans, racist doctrines and other heinous designs were concocted. It is not a coincidence that following the Second World War, these lands were passed on our country which throughout its history had suffered most from the Prussian militarism.

Meanwhile, Western strategists are revisiting aggressive plans that would have received a total support from Teutonic knights, Prussian Junkers and their Nazi descendants that used to reside on those lands but quite justifiably ended up in the dustbin of history. I have no doubts that present-day Western warmongers will face the same miserable plight.  

— Let us talk about another sea which is already on fire – the Black Sea. The Russian army is successfully advancing on land. What about the Black Sea Fleet? 

— The Black Sea Fleet has an important part in the special military operation in Ukraine. Its ships launched Kalibr missiles against AFU’s military infrastructure, storage facilities and command posts. The Black Sea sailors blocked the Ukrainian ports, cut off weapons supplies to Kiev by sea and have created and are controlling a security zone at sea. The Black Sea Fleet is effectively countering NATO’s increasing presence in the Black Sea. The fleet is to be further strengthened in the coming years with the arrival of new frigates, corvettes, aircraft and marine robotic systems. 

However, Russia can only eliminate military threats from the Black Sea when Ukraine is demilitarised.  

— The Russian Navy will celebrate its 330th anniversary in 2026. Are preparations for the celebrations underway?

— The marine community has already launched efforts to identify, examine and preserve existing sites of maritime cultural and historical heritage. 

By the way, there will be some momentous anniversaries coming up this year, too. On September 7, we mark the 305th anniversary of the Russian Navy’s victory in the Battle of Grengam, the last major battle of the Northern War. At that time, Russia was confronting, apart from Sweden, also England that was unwilling to see an emergence of a new great sea power. In addition, October 15 marks the 90th anniversary of the laying down of Project 26 Kirov cruisers at the Baltic Shipyard, the first series of large Soviet naval ships.

We should remind the world about the historical and present-day contribution of our country to the exploration and studies of the world’s oceans and seas. The great history of the Russian Navy is directly tied to its future. It is a challenging task to maintain and develop the navy as this requires both a will, material efforts, and the spirit. As early as in the 19th century, General-Admiral of the Russian Navy, Grand Prince Konstantin Nikolayevich, uttered the immortal words: “We must fight for Russia’s navy.” We have the government determination and resources whereas the spirit – people’s engagement in the crucial efforts – is being enhanced by the awareness of the navy’s history, among other things.  

— What would you like to wish our naval sailors ahead of their professional holiday?  

— With great pleasure and pride in our Navy, I sincerely wish all naval sailors – seamen, petty officers, warrant officers, officers and admirals — strong health, unstoppable energy and new successes in their service for the good of the Fatherland. Today, the Navy is following up on the glorious traditions of Peter I, admirals Ushakov, Nakhimov and Kuznetsov. Long-distance cruises, drills and combat duty in key areas of the global ocean step up combat readiness and strengthen the morale, which is why Russian maritime borders remain inviolable whereas the ships carrying St Andrew’s flag perform the tasks, set by the Fatherland, with honour.