Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday launched the construction of new nuclear submarines and other warships, part of a sweeping military modernization effort amid tensions with the West<\/a>.<\/p>\n Speaking in a video call, Putin gave orders for two nuclear submarines armed with intercontinental ballistic missiles along with two diesel-powered submarines and two corvettes at shipyards in Severodvinsk, St. Petersburg and Komsomolsk-on-Amur.<\/p>\n \u201cWe will continue to boost the potential of the Russian Navy, develop its bases and infrastructure, arm it with state-of-the-art weapons,\u201d Putin said. \u201cA strong and sovereign Russia needs a powerful and well-balanced navy.\u201d<\/p>\n Russian navy launches cruise missiles from a ship in the Caspian Sea at Islamic State militants in Aleppo, Syria, 2016. Click to enlarge<\/p><\/div>\n The Kremlin has made military modernization a top priority as relations with the West have plunged to post-Cold War lows after Russia\u2019s 2014 annexation of Ukraine\u2019s Crimea. Moscow has sought to reestablish a regular naval presence in parts of the world that the Soviet Union had during the Cold War.<\/p>\n The Russian Navy already has a major presence in the Mediterranean Sea, with a naval base in the Syrian port of Tartus. It has expanded and modified the Tartus base, the only such facility that Russia currently has outside the former Soviet Union.<\/p>\n \u201cWe will continue to show the Russian flag in strategically important ocean areas,\u201d Putin said.<\/p>\n Monday\u2019s ceremony for the new ships was part of the Army-2021 show intended to showcase military might and attract foreign customers for Russia\u2019s arms industries. The weeklong show features aircraft, tanks, missiles and other weapons.<\/p>\n \u201cMany of our weapons have the capabilities that have no analogues in the world, and some will remain unrivaled<\/a> for a long time to come,\u201d Putin said.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Russian-navy-cruise-missile-launch.png\")
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