Russian Navy to receive shipment of Kazan nuclear submarines

The Russian Navy will receive a Project 885M Kazan nuclear-powered submarine today.

The Project 855M Kazan is a Yasen class submarine equipped with nuclear-capable Kalibr and Oniks cruise missiles. Its deployment is seen as a campaign by Russian President Vladimir Putin to modernize the Russian armed forces and comes against a backdrop of heightened tensions with Ukraine.

The delivery comes amidst heightened tensions in Ukraine’s Donbas region and as the arrival of US Coast Guard ship Hamilton to the Black Sea ahead of NATO military exercises. Russia decided to increase military maneuvers in the Black Sea, and the Russian Navy recently tested a supersonic anti-ship cruise missile in the Black Sea in a show of force.

Since the annexation of Crimea in 2014, Russia has been strengthening its military hold on the Black Sea. The deployment within the Russian fleet of these new submarines would give Russia the means to inflict damage on any adversary who attacks its interests. Given the Montreux Convention prevents the American thalassocracy from countering the rise of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, expect Russia to continue to conduct military maneuvers in the region to consolidate its position as a leading power while carefully avoiding dangerous miscalculations.