Putin orders massive snap military drills
Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered snap military drills involving 150,000 personnel and hundreds of aircraft and naval vessels to make sure "security in Russia's south-west", the defence ministry said on Friday.
"In accordance with the decision of the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian MILITARY, snap exercises are being conducted by troops of the Southern and Western military districts," Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu was quoted as saying in a statement. The drills involve practically 150,000 personnel including airborne troops and marine infantry of the Northern and Pacific Fleets, the defense ministry said.
The exercises also involve a lot more than 400 aircraft and over 100 vessels and will be conducted in the Black and Caspian Seas, among other areas. The drills try to test the Russian army's readiness to ensure "security in Russia's south-west in which a serious threat of terrorism remains" along with plan the Caucasus-2020 war games, the defence ministry said.
Russia has accused the united states and its own Nato allies of encroaching after its territory at a higher frequency recently. In June, Russia scrambled fighter jets to intercept two American B-52 bombers flying over the Sea of Okhotsk, off Russia's asian coast, the Interfax news agency cited the Defense Ministry in Moscow as saying.
The drills involve practically 150,000 personnel including airborne troops and marine infantry of the Northern and Pacific Fleets, the ministry said.The exercises also involve a lot more than 400 aircraft and 100 vessels and you will be conducted in the Black and Caspian Seas, among other places.
As an answer to the Russian drills, neighboring Ukraine said on Friday it would also conduct military exercises, which it hoped NATO partners would join, as an insurance against any resulting escalation on its eastern borders. Ukraine's Defence Minister Andriy Taran told the parliament the exercises would include anti-aircraft fire and will be held towards the end of September in southern Ukraine.
Relations between Moscow and Kyiv have been tense since 2014, when Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine and backed a separatist armed uprising in eastern Ukraine that remains active. Clashes between Ukrainian troops and Russian-backed forces have killed a lot more than 13,000 people since 2014, despite a ceasefire agreement struck in 2015.
"This asymmetric response will show the readiness of the armed forces of Ukraine to provide a worthy rebuff to any attempts by the Russian Federation to exacerbate the problem or start large-scale hostilities," Taran said. He said Kyiv would invite NATO countries to become listed on the event.
