Putin Orders Snap Military Drill of Major Russian Division

[Purveyor]

Source: Newsweek

By Damien Sharkov 9/7/15 at 1:56 PM

Russian president Vladimir Putin has ordered a snap military drill of Russian forces headquartered in the country's Central Military District according to a statement by the Russian minister of defence, Sergey Shoygu.

"In accordance with the decree relating to troops in the [central] district, part of the air force of other military districts as well as Airborne troops and military transport aircraft have gone on full battle readiness from 09:30 Moscow-time," Shoygu told military officials on Monday.

The drill is set to cover practical and theoretical aspects of military preparation and will particularly focus on communication between military command and the air force and airborne troops. "We have to evaluate the capability of the Airborne Forces for long-distance deployments and their readiness for landing on unfamiliar zones" Shoygu added.

The drill will last until September 12 and besides the Ministry of Defence, it will test other Russian state services' ability to respond to a war-type scenario including the Ministry of Health and the administrations of four nearby federal regions.

Read more: http://europe.newsweek.com/putin-orders-snap-military-drill-major-russian-division-332610

[Botany]

1. Good to see the Russians pissing away money like we do w/our MIC

BTW this does not mean I don't think Putin is not a nasty piece of work.


BTW part b Happy Labor Day to all of DU

oh for the love of dog

[Igel]

2. There'll probably be dozens of accidental deaths from this.

Ahem.

[bemildred]

3. Kerry: Russia could escalate Syrian conflict

Going to Syria, perhaps?

Washington (CNN)Kremlin officials have dismissed allegations of a major Russian military deployment to Syria, after U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry raised the issue with his Russian counterpart.

Reports circulating in recent days quoted unnamed Western diplomats saying a Russian expeditionary force is already in Syria to prepare for the arrival of an "aerial contingent" of fighter jets and attack helicopters for "strikes against ISIS targets in Syria."

In a telephone call over the weekend, Kerry warned the Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, that -- if the reports are true -- the Russian military presence "could further escalate the conflict, lead to greater loss of innocent lives, increase refugee flows and risk confrontation" with an (anti-ISIS) coalition operating in Syria, according to a statement from the U.S. State Department.

But the Kremlin is categorically denying as "premature" the allegations that it has any military ambitions in Syria, although it admits sending weapons and advisers to assist its Syrian ally, President Bashar al Assad.

http://www.cnn.com/2015/09/07/politics/kerry-russia-syrian-conflict/index.html