Putin orders surprise Black Sea military exercises
RUSSIA: Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday ordered surprise
military exercises in the Black Sea region involving 7,000 troops and
dozens of ships to test the army's battle readiness, the Kremlin said.
In typical Putin style, the order was presented to the Defence
Minister Sergei Shoigu in a sealed envelope in the middle of the
nightwith the drills to start immediately.
Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov indicated the order was aimed at
testing out the battle readiness of the Russian armed forces and said
Moscow was not obliged to warn its partners of the plan.
“Today at 4.00 am the President of the Russian Federation and supreme
military commander (Putin) gave the order to the defence minister to
begin major military exercises in the Black Sea region,” Peskov said.
“We are talking about major exercises, intended as a check,” he added
in a statement carried by Russian news agencies. He said the exercises
would involve 36 ships and up to 7,000 troops.
A defence ministry source told the state RIA Novosti news agency that
the military drills, which would involve live firing, were already under
way and would be wrapped up by the end of the week.
Peskov said Putin had already warned the armed forces that they would
be subject to sudden checks of their battle preparedness.
“If we remember what the president said at the council of the defence
ministry a little time ago, then we will remember his words that the
practice of sudden checks will continue,” Peskov added.
Putin drew up the sudden order overnight while flying home from South
Africa where he attended the summit of BRICS emerging economies in
Durban.
Peskov said 36 ships from the Russian Black Sea Fleet's base in the
Ukrainian Crimean city of Sevastopol and the Russian port of
Novorossiisk would be involved in the exercises.
Aviation, paratroopers and special forces would also take part,
Peskov said.
“According to international practice, exercises involving up to 7,000
people do not require us to inform our partners in advance,” he said.
The defence ministry's chief spokesman Igor Konashenkov told RIA
Novosti that the drills would involve 7,000 troops, up to 20 military
jets and helicopters and 50 pieces of artillery.
Key littoral states on the Black Sea include Turkey, Ukraine and
Russia's foe Georgia with whom Moscow fought a brief war in 2008. EU
members Bulgaria and Romania also have a Black Sea coastline.
Peskov said the exercises would take place on three military test
ranges on Russian territory. Russia embarked on a major campaign of
military reform after its war with Georgia showed up weaknesses in the
reactivity of the armed forces despite the military victory over
Tbilisi.
The government is seeking to make the army more responsive to the
demands of modern warfare by modernising technology and shaking up
command structures.
Independent military analyst Alexander Golts said that as long as the
element of surprise was genuine, the exercises were a good idea “to test
the battle readiness of the army”.
Analyst Pavel Felgenhauer, a military commentator for the opposition
Novaya Gazeta newspaper, said Putin was keen to make another display of
Russian military might to the West.
AFP
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