During the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–1905, he was an officer on the Oslyabya, and survived the sinking of this ship during the Battle of Tsushima.

During World War I Sablin commanded the cruiser squadron of the Black Sea Fleet, and took part in numerous combat actions against the Imperial German Navy and Ottoman Navy, for which he was awarded the Order of Saint George for his valour.

[1] In May 1918 the Germans invaded the Crimea and Sablin moved a portion of his fleet (two battleships and fourteen destroyers) to Novorossiysk in order to save it from capture.

Sablin was arrested and imprisoned by the Bolsheviks but escaped in August 1918 and made his way via the United Kingdom to join Pavlo Skoropadskyi's anti-Bolshevik forces in the Crimea.

Sablin commanded the naval forces of the White Movement but was invalided out due to ill health in 1920.