Moscow has announced the appointment of new commanders at the helm of its Baltic and Pacific fleets, as reported by Russia's Interfax and TASS news agencies. Admiral Viktor Liina, who formerly led the Baltic Fleet, will now head the Pacific Fleet, while Vice Admiral Vladimir Vorobyov has been appointed as the new commander of the fleet in the Baltics. The move comes following the surprise retirement of the previous head of the Pacific Fleet, Sergei Avakyants, whose removal has sparked speculation over the high losses sustained by parts of the fleet under his leadership during Russia's war against Ukraine.
Although official sources claim that Avakyants was retired because he had reached the age of 65, independent media outlets suggest that his removal may have been a result of his alleged inability to recreate pre-war, large-scale Pacific Fleet combat readiness checks due to the significant combat losses sustained by the fleet in Ukraine. In the wake of Avakyants' retirement, the Pacific Fleet was ordered to participate in an unannounced major manoeuvre designed to simulate Russian forces repelling a "theoretical enemy landing".
Russia has a total of four fleets, with the Northern Fleet being the largest and the Pacific Fleet coming in second. The Baltic and Black Sea fleets are the other two. Members of all four naval units are fighting in Russia's war against Ukraine, mostly as marines. Reports suggest that Liina's appointment as commander of the Pacific Fleets coincided with the completion of drills by the fleet in the Pacific under the supervision of Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy Admiral Nikolai Yevmenov.
Following his removal, Avakyants is reportedly set to lead an organisation that oversees military training and patriotic education. The US think tank Institute for the Study of War (ISW) has noted that the reshuffling of the fleet's commanders comes at a time when the Russian Navy is seeking to rebuild its combat readiness and capabilities, particularly in light of its ongoing conflict with Ukraine.