Russia launches massive Arctic military drills

[SASKFARMER3]

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The Russian military on Monday launched sweeping military manoeuvers in the Arctic and other areas, a show of force ordered by President Vladimir Putin amid spiralling tensions with the West over Ukraine.

The five-day Arctic drills involving 38,000 servicemen, more than 50 surface ships and submarines and 110 aircraft are intended to check the readiness of Russia's Northern Fleet and the military's ability to deploy additional forces from central Russia.

Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said "the new challenges and military threats require further increase of the armed forces' capabilities."

As part of the exercise the military will check its ability to beef up its forces on the Arctic Novaya Zemlya and Franz Josef Land archipelagos and protect the state borders on land, in the air and at sea, Shoigu said in televised remarks.

Other tasks will include the airlifting of special operations forces to distant locations and efforts to counter the enemy's diversions.

The military elsewhere in Russia also launched drills. About 3,000 troops drilled on Sakhalin Island, the Kamchatka Peninsula and other areas in the far east.

In southern Siberia, the Russian air force launched manoeuvers at the firing range in Buryatia, and in southwestern Russia, about 500 troops were involved in tactical drills on shooting ranges in the Stavropol region.

The war games come as Russia-West ties are strained over the Ukrainian crisis and the West is also boosting its military preparedness. The United States is planning to conduct joint exercises with forces from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania later this month.

Putin, speaking in a documentary broadcast by state television late Sunday, said that Russia was ready to bring its nuclear weapons into a state of alert during last year's tensions over the Crimean Peninsula and the overthrow of Ukraine's Moscow-friendly president.

Russian forces quickly took over Crimea following the ouster of President Viktor Yanukovych, blocking Ukrainian troops at their bases and setting the stage for a hastily called referendum on secession. Russia then annexed Crimea on March 19, 2014.

Are we on our way to something Big happening one of these days.
Scary stuff going on.

[15444]

Avoid any trips to Minot, Grand Forks or Colorado Springs, lol.

[Daylate]

Haha.ya could be a hell of a cloud over Regina as the US intercepts the (insert most googled hot Russian woman name) overhead, destination Chicago.

Until then I'll go about my normal life. It's not time to steal the neighbors pig yet.

[rkaiser]

For christ sake --- every move Putin has made has been defensive. NATO and the American puppet politicians working for the banksters have done nothing but promote the hostility.

You want to keep pumping this bull shit propaganda - expect some response.

EU is waking up and the tide will turn. All about money.

[ALLFARMER]

The guy is responsible for shooting a loaded jetliner out of the sky....Putin is a nutcase.

[rkaiser]

Bullshit Allfarmer. How do you know Putin shot the damn thing down. CBC?
CTV? Fox? NBC? For christ sake open your eyes.

[WiltonRanch]

Putin is sabre rattling in the arctic. Whether it be aggressive or defensive. Russians don't have a great record with blameless ness for shooting down airliners. Remember the South Korean airliner they shot down in the 80's?

The ukranian conflict is a complex situation much like a lot of the Middle East wars over the past 40 years. I liken these to an abusive husband beating his wife. Some well intentioned person jumps in to help the woman out to find she turns on him and together the couple beats him. It's screwed up and wrong but that's how civil wars are. Putin is wrong for being involved like he is. NATO is there because Russia is involved. Should NATO proceed and arm up the Ukraine? Good question. It's a catch 22. Most of the Middle East conflicts the us and such were involved with eventually backfired with the rise of radical Islam and General hatred of the west. We blame the wests motivation for oil and that is true. However the Ukraine situation has more at stake. Yes it's a civil war no one should take sides but we have a worthy adversary making territorial gains into a friendly country. World War One started on weaker grounds than this.

Putin is getting away with as much as has because no one is ready, has the will, and are already strung out fighting radical Islam. Putin knows this all too well. As much as Russia takes a hard stance on Islamists there is plenty of Russian arms on Isis soldiers. What's next some of Georgia, Lithuania?

[rockpile]

Kaiser and Wilton - I agree with most of what you say. And those of you with short memories, I would remind you that during the first Gulf War the Americans shot down an Iranian airliner - mistaken identity. Not sure what the West is capable of doing in terms of the Ukraine, but I think the US is at war with Putin and the weapon they are using is oil - knocking the piss out of Putin's bank account and the Russian economy.

[rkaiser]

Good points folks and ALL debatable. Especially the war on terror thing. But not for me to get into with you guys. I respect opinion and will not sit back and hear bull shit propaganda without bringing up another side. If you want to see the "other" side of the this, you are all free to read or tune in to RT which has surpassed Fox and CNN as the most watched news channel on American based YouTube. Actual American's who look at both sides.

[stonepicker]

Have to agree with raiser on putin not shooting the airliner down. ( u.s. bullshit ) I believe that putin's plane was about 20 min. behind the one that was shot down. Putin was the target.

[furrowtickler]

Well three letters not mentioned - CIA ....
I totally agree with rock pile , people need to a lot deeper .

[WiltonRanch]

Well the ukranian airforce mistakenly shot an airliner down during training exercises a number of years back. You never know.

Imagine if Putin was killed and they found it was the Ukrainians who did it. Hello wwiii. Even if it was pro Russian forces who did it the blame would still be sidled on the Ukraine by the Russians and pro Russian forces by the allies. I mean this whole conflict stinks of bs. I don't buy into the poor Russia any more than that the current ukranian administration is blameless. Putin is an autocrat who's opposers seem to die from radiation poisoning and get jailed indefinitely for speeding tickets. The ruling ukranian govt were neo nazis. It's a mess