President Vladimir Putin yesterday ordered snap checks of troops’ combat readiness in Russia’s far east, the latest in a series of military drills this year as tensions have mounted over the crisis in Ukraine.
Russian news agencies quoted Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu as telling the armed forces’ leadership yesterday that troops in the eastern military district, which includes Russia’s maritime border with Japan and its land frontier with China, had been ordered to be on full combat readiness at 10am Moscow time.
A number of military checks and snap war drills, which Putin has implemented to test and display the armed forces’ capabilities, have raised tensions as ties between Moscow and the West fray over Russia’s role in the Ukraine crisis. The West has accused Putin of using some of the manoeuvres to boost Russia’s troop presence along its border with Ukraine.
The snap checks in Russia’s far east were also meant to test the ability of local branches of the trade, communications and transportation ministries to work during wartime conditions, the news reports said.
Russia has been trying to strengthen ties with Asia, and particularly with China, during the crisis over Ukraine. Japan has joined its European and US allies in imposing sanctions on Russia over the crisis. Meanwhile also yesterday Russia said it was dissatisfied with talks held with US officials to address concerns that Moscow had violated a Cold War-era arms control agreement by testing a ground-launched cruise missile.
In view of the cold relations with the West following Russia’s role in the crisis in Ukraine, both Moscow and Washington are questioning the other’s commitment to the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces treaty.
Russia argues that Washington’s use of drones and other intermediate-range arms amounts to a violation of the treaty and has said that planned US weapons tests in Romania and Poland may also breach the agreement.
The talks in Moscow were attended by US Undersecretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Rose Gottemoeller.
“We were not satisfied with their answers,” said the Russian Foreign Ministry’s arms control chief Mikhail Ulyanov, who represented the Russian side at the talks.
The INF treaty eliminated nuclear and conventional ground-launched ballistic and cruise missiles with a range of 500-5,500 kilometres near the end of the Cold War.
Russian Deputy Defence Minister Anatoly Antonov said last month Moscow was committed to the treaty but President Vladimir Putin has questioned whether it meets Russia’s interests.