Russia's naval chief Adm. Vladimir Vysotsky said Thursday that his country will send more naval ships to Somali coast to tackle the escalating pirate attacks there, in addition to the Russian frigate Neustrashimy, which deployed in the region earlier for the same purpose.
"After Neustrashimy, Russia will be sending warships from other fleets to this region," the official news agency RIA Novosti quoted Vysotsky as saying on Thursday.
Neustrashimy was deployed after Somali pirates seized a Ukrainian vessel in September with Russian battle tanks on board. Since its deployment last month, Neustrashimy has foiled at least two pirate attacks off the coast of Somalia.
The pirates, who hijacked the Ukrainian vessel with the dangerous Russian cargo on board, are still holding on the vessel and have demanded a $5 million ransom for the release of the vessel and its crew.
Soon after the Ukrainian ship's hijack, as many as 10 foreign naval vessels, including USS Howard of the Bahrain-based Fifth Fleet, surrounded the hijacked vessel to prevent it from unloading its dangerous cargo.
The coast of Somalia has been affected by piracy in the recent months and more than thirty pirate attacks have been reported in the country's waters since the beginning of 2008. Generally, the crew and the vessels are returned unharmed on receiving the demanded ransom.
The recent escalation in the number of pirate attacks off the Somali coast forced various countries, including EU member states, NATO members, India and Russia, to deploy their naval vessels in the region to protect ships against piracy.
For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com
June 12, 2026 17:14 ET Major central bank action was the focus this week in economic news. The European Central Bank became the first major central bank to move in response to the rising inflationary pressures in the backdrop of the conflict in the Middle East. In North America, the U.S. inflation and trade data as well as Canada’s central bank decision gained attention. The Chinese trade data was the main news in Asia.