Russian Smolnyy Class training ship Perekop sailing at the waters of Lake Maracaibo, Venezuela, on Sunday, July 23, 2023. Photo: Twitter/@ArmadaFANBVzla.
Caracas (OrinocoTribune.com)—The Russian training ship, Perekop, arrived at Lake Maracaibo, Zulia state, Venezuela. The ship arrived in Venezuela to deepen the bonds of friendship and military cooperation between the two countries and to participate in the naval parade commemorating the 200th anniversary of the Lake Maracaibo Naval Battle, Venezuela’s Navy Day celebration, on Monday, July 24.
The ship is carrying 106 cadets and is commanded by Admiral Serguey Sadovchenko. It is designed for the training of future sailors of the Russian Federation and has been making a series of calls in various ports in the Caribbean Sea during recent weeks as part of its most recent training voyage. Perekop has docked at ports in Cuba and Nicaragua, from where it departed to arrive this Sunday, July 23, in Venezuela, as reported by the Venezuelan Navy on social media.
🔴El Buque Escuela de la Federación Rusa, 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐤𝐨𝐩 arribó a las heroicas aguas marabinas, con el fin de participar en la celebración del Bicentenario de la Batalla Naval del Lago de Maracaibo y Día de la Armada Bolivariana.
Bienvenidos a la Tierra del Sol Amada!!!
🇻🇪🤝🇷🇺 pic.twitter.com/ixVuQBCovm— Cuenta Oficial de la Armada Bolivariana (@ArmadaFANBVzla) July 24, 2023
The Simón Bolívar School Ship will be at the Lake Maracaibo pier, and 23 floating units will also participate in the Naval Day ceremony. In addition, “over 200 fishing boats are preparing for what will be a majestic parade for the Bicentennial of the Naval Battle of Maracaibo Lake,” said Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López.
With a displacement of more than 7,000 tons at full load, 138 meters in length and 17.2 meters in beam, the Perekov is a training ship of the Smolnyy class (Project 887). Commissioned in 1977 by the then-Soviet Navy and later by the Russian Navy, the ship belongs to the Baltic Fleet, based at the Kronstad Base. For almost five decades, it has been training and instructing cadets from the St. Petersburg Naval Institute, the oldest and most prestigious naval military academy in Russia.
🇷🇺🇻🇪Buque escuela ruso “Perekop” participó en desfile naval del 200 aniversario de la Armada de Venezuela
💬La participación de nuestro buque escuela <…> sin duda servirá para fortalecer aún más la cooperación entre nuestros países en el ámbito naval
🔗https://t.co/x4Q7PZrPPV pic.twitter.com/0kTmUbw1D0
— EmbajadaRusaVEN (@EmbajadaRusaVen) July 25, 2023
Curiously, the name Perekop comes from an urban settlement on the Perekop Isthmus connecting the Crimean peninsula to the Ukrainian mainland. The village is currently part of Russia’s Armiansk Municipality.
Crimea is the historically Russian-majority peninsula in the Black Sea that serves as the base of the Russian South Fleet. Massive human rights violations targeting Russians in the area have been reported since 2014, after the US-sponsored coup against former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych. These events led to a referendum that resulted in the majority of the population favoring joining the Russian Federation.
Provocations Escalate: US Nuclear Submarine Docks in Cuban Territory
Mainstream outlets have covered the voyage of the Perekop through the Caribbean Sea in recent weeks with criticism. The same propaganda machines have said almost nothing about the recent presence of a nuclear submarine and heavy military equipment in the area, allegedly participating in military drills organized by the US Army’s Southern Command (SOUTHCOM).
Orinoco Tribune Special by staff
OT/JRE/SF
