Today is Black Sea Fleet Day, a holiday established on May 13, 1996 — 17 years ago today. The Black Sea Fleet was founded in 1783 and its ships have been used in, among others, the Russian-Turkish War, the Crimean War, and the Russian-Georgian war in 2008.

Navy commander Viktor Chirkov said this weekend that ships from the Black Sea Fleet will form the foundation of a new grouping that will be permanently deployed in the Mediterranean Sea.