45,000 Russian soldiers conduct simultaneous military exercises nationwide.
More than 45,000 soldiers, along with fighter jets and submarines, began military exercises across Russia yesterday, one of Moscow's largest displays of force since tensions with the West escalated.
According to Reuters, President Vladimir Putin ordered the Northern Fleet to be ready for combat during exercises in the Arctic region.
"New challenges and threats to military security require the armed forces to enhance their capabilities. In particular, attention must be paid to the new strategic formations being established in the north," said Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu.
Russia's Arctic military exercises involve nearly 40,000 troops, 41 warships, and 15 submarines. The operation is expected to last a week, as Russia celebrates the first anniversary of its annexation of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula.
Norway, a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), is also holding a "Joint Viking" exercise involving 5,000 soldiers in Finnmark County, bordering Russia at the Arctic Circle.
Norway says the exercise was planned before the crisis in Ukraine. "However, the current security situation in Europe makes this exercise more appropriate than ever," Norwegian Lieutenant General Haga Lunde said in a statement.
Relations between Russia and Europe began to deteriorate early last year due to the crisis in Ukraine. Eight northern European countries pledged to strengthen cooperation to counter Russia's increased military activity.
NATO claims to have intercepted more than 100 Russian aircraft entering the airspace of member states last year, three times the number in 2013. These confrontations forced civilian aircraft to change their flight paths, and Britain deployed Typhoon interceptors and long-range bombers to counter Russia.
Beyond the Arctic, 5,000 Russian soldiers have also begun exercises in the eastern military district, while another 500 are conducting drills in the North Caucasus region of Chechnya.
These exercises focused on countering insurgent forces. The insurgency, aimed at establishing an Islamic state, has spread throughout the North Caucasus, a predominantly Muslim region frustrated by local abuses of power.
According to VNE
