Putin Warns of Pacific Threat as Submarines Protected by Anti-Drone Nets

Russian President Vladimir Putin warned on Wednesday that NATO's deployment of new weapons to the Pacific region poses a threat to Russia. The Kremlin leader expressed concern over the growing potential for conflict in the area, according to state media reports. NATO's expansion into the Indo-Pacific, driven by China's increasing military might, has prompted the United States and its allies to shift their focus toward the region.

In late March, the U.S. deployed advanced F-35 fighter jets to northern Japan for the first time, while a long-range missile test was conducted from a Typhon system in the Philippines in May. Other NATO countries have also sent ships, planes, and troops for rotations in the Pacific this year. Despite NATO's declaration of a purely defensive stance, Putin highlighted the deployment of new weapons systems as a threat to Russia.

He observed Russia's Pacific Fleet carrying out drills near Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, the largest city on Sakhalin Island, located just north of Japan. Recently, Russia has installed anti-drone nets at its Rybachiy submarine base, the primary hub for its Pacific Fleet in the Kamchatka Peninsula, home to a significant portion of Russia's nuclear submarine fleet.

The move reflects Russian officials' anxiety about the vulnerability of their advanced submarines, particularly following the Ukrainian Spiderweb drone attack on a Russian Black Sea fleet base in June 2025.