Russian President Vladimir Putin, center, listens to a navy officer as he visits the Varyag missile cruiser of the Pacific Fleet to watch a military exercise near Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, on Sakhalin Island, Russia, Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2026, as Admiral Viktor Liina, right, looks on. (Gavriil Grigorov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)