INS Sahyadri, an Indian Navy stealth frigate, arrived at Vladivostok, Russia, on 10 October 2026 to participate in Exercise INDRA-2026, a bilateral naval exercise between India and Russia. INDRA is a long-running joint exercise series covering anti-piracy, search-and-rescue, and maritime security operations. The exercise reflects India's continued defence engagement with Russia even as India deepens ties with Western partners under its multi-alignment foreign policy.

Exercise INDRA is India's bilateral naval exercise with Russia, conducted alternately in Indian and Russian waters. It sits within the broader India-Russia Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership, a designation that places Russia at the highest tier of India's bilateral relationships. The exercise tests interoperability in anti-surface warfare, anti-submarine warfare, air defence, and humanitarian operations at sea.

INS Sahyadri is a Project 17 Shivalik-class stealth guided-missile frigate, the first class of warships designed and built entirely in India under the 'Make in India' defence production drive. Its deployment to Vladivostok carries both operational and symbolic weight: Vladivostok is the headquarters of Russia's Pacific Fleet and the eastern terminus of the Trans-Siberian Railway — a city with which India signed a 'sister-city' agreement with Chennai.

For UPSC, the critical static hinterland here is India's multi-alignment posture: India conducts Malabar with the Quad navies, Milan with regional navies, and INDRA with Russia simultaneously. The examiner has repeatedly tested knowledge of which exercise pairs which countries, what ship classes India deploys, and what India's strategic logic is in maintaining diverse defence partnerships. India's 'Act Far East' policy — launched at the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok in 2019 — also makes this port location specifically exam-relevant.