The Russian Navy's guided-missile cruiser Marshal Ustinov carried out artillery exercises near Norway's border on April 15, 2025, as part of a series of planned military drills in the region.
The 186-meter warship fired its AK-130 artillery system at targets on the Rybachii Peninsula along the Barents Sea coast, approximately 30 kilometers from Norway's land border and 20 kilometers from maritime boundaries between the two nations.
According to Russia's Northern Fleet, all designated targets were successfully engaged during the exercise. The drills are part of a broader training program scheduled for the week, which will include anti-submarine warfare, air defense operations, and missile launches in the Barents Sea.
This marks the second set of exercises by the Marshal Ustinov in the area within a month. In early March 2025, the cruiser conducted similar drills involving artillery fire, missile launches, and torpedo exercises alongside other Northern Fleet vessels including a nuclear submarine and multiple anti-submarine warfare ships.
The Marshal Ustinov, commissioned in 1986, is a Slava-class cruiser equipped with advanced anti-ship missiles, air defense systems, and anti-submarine capabilities. The vessel underwent modernization between 2012 and 2016, enhancing its role in Russia's naval operations.
The military activities near NATO territory come amid heightened regional tensions following Russia's actions in Ukraine and the recent NATO membership of Finland and Sweden. Norway continues to closely monitor Russian military movements in the High North, where both nations share strategic interests in Arctic resources and maritime routes.
The Russian Defense Ministry maintains these exercises are routine training activities within their territorial waters. However, the proximity of such military drills to NATO borders has drawn attention from Nordic countries and their allies, reflecting ongoing strategic sensitivities in the region.