Vladimir Putin Reportedly Orders Baltic Military Drills To Test Russia’s ‘Battle-Readiness’


Russian president Vladimir Putin has reportedly ordered sudden military drills for Russian armed forces serving in the Baltic region, in order to test his country’s readiness for a world war.

A spokesman for the Ministry of Defence in Russia reported the orders to the Interfax news agency yesterday, while Andrey Kartapolov, the lieutenant general of the Russian army said, “A self-sufficient, multi-purpose army of air, sea and land units was assembled in the period of less than a day in the Kaliningrad area, consisting of units from all branches of the armed forces.”

The snap drill, which took place around a week ago, saw Russian servicemen called to their battle-stations in Kaliningrad without prior warning.

Newsweek reported that the drill was a large one, and included the Russian navy’s Baltic fleet, troops from the western military district, and a large array of military aviation units.

The drill consisted of 9,000 servicemen, 642 military vehicles, including 250 tanks and APCs, over 100 artillery units, 55 warships and the Iskander ballistic missile system, all aimed at repelling an attack from Europe.

As Kartapolov told reporters, “The air force and air defence units were tasked with covering important military and government targets and supporting ground troops from the air, as well as practicing hitting enemy units from the air,” adding that the fleet also engaged in practice fire drills as well as defending Russia from the sea.

It’s no wonder that these drills took place in Kaliningrad as it is Russia’s westernmost territory, bordering EU and NATO members Poland and Lithuania. As such, the city holds tremendous strategic importance for Russia and is one of the country’s most heavily militarised areas.

According to Russia’s minister of defence, Sergey Shoygu, officers were told that they need to “be battle-ready at all times,” leading to fears in the west that World War III could be a more imminent threat than previously thought.

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