Putin's navy day gambit: Courting Asia and Africa against the West

Vladimir Putin seeks to create an anti-Western coalition of countries, including those from Asia and Africa. He used the celebrations of Navy Day in Russia for this purpose.

Navy Day is a cyclical holiday of the Russian fleet, particularly popular during Soviet times in the 1970s. In 2017, Vladimir Putin restored this holiday's status as a state event. It is celebrated throughout Russia, but the most significant part of the festivities takes place in St. Petersburg, where warships sail down the Neva River to the naval base in the city of Kronstadt, located on Kotlin Island in the Gulf of Finland, the British Ministry of Defence reminded in the latest intelligence update.

Putin used the celebrations to threaten the West. In a speech to sailors, he said that the USA could trigger a missile crisis reminiscent of the Cold War. He emphasised that important targets in Russia would then be within reach of American missiles, and state and military facilities, as well as significant industrial sites, could be hit within 10 minutes. He announced Russia's response.

As reported by the Unian agency, citing a report by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), Putin is looking for allies in the fight against the West. The news states that "the dictator from the Kremlin used this year’s celebrations to attempt to assemble an anti-Western coalition."

Representatives from 31 countries attended the event, most of which were hostile or sceptical toward the USA and NATO. Among them were representatives from Azerbaijan, Venezuela, Vietnam, Cuba, Libya, Myanmar, Syria, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and South Africa.

Citing Ukrainian media, "such an alliance would, in Putin’s intention, be an alternative to NATO."