Putin Orders Military Tests Amid Ukraine Tensions1 hour
President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday ordered massive exercises
involving most military units in western Russia amid tensions in
Ukraine.
Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said in a televised statement made at a
meeting of top military brass in Moscow that the exercise is intended to
"check the troops' readiness for action in crisis situations that
threaten the nation's military security."
In later remarks carried by Russian news agencies, Shoigu said that the
maneuvers involve some 150,000 troops, 880 tanks, 90 aircraft and 80
navy ships.
He said the exercise is unrelated to the developments in Ukraine, where
tensions remain high following the toppling of Russia-backed President
Viktor Yanukovych.
But Shoigu added that the exercise will be held near Russian borders,
including the border with Ukraine. He also said, according to Russian
news reports, that his ministry will take steps to strengthen security
of the facilities of the Russian Black Sea Fleet in Ukraine's Crimean
Peninsula, without elaborating.
The maneuvers follow a series of war games Russia has held recently. In
July, a military exercise in Siberia and the far eastern region involved
160,000 troops and about 5,000 tanks and other armored vehicles along
with the air force and the navy.
Shoigu said the maneuvers will start Friday and will last four days. The
exercise will involve ships of the Baltic and the Northern Fleets and
the air force.
Russia has questioned the legitimacy of the new Ukrainian authorities
and accused them of failing to control radicals who threaten the
Russia-speaking population in Ukraine's east and south.
A senior Russian lawmaker on Tuesday told pro-Russia activists in Crimea
that Moscow will protect them if their lives are in danger.
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