Vladimir Putin orders Russian military drills amid Ukraine tensions

Russian military units have been scrambled from their bases as part of snap drills ordered by president Vladimir Putin, the latest in a series of war games amid tensions with the West over Ukraine.

The Defence Ministry said the manoeuvres will last for five days and involve forces of the Central Military District, a group of forces spreading from the Volga River all the way to eastern Siberia, along with air force and airborne units.

General Sergei Koshelev briefed foreign military attaches about the exercise, saying they are aimed to check the troops’ combat readiness and do not threaten any country.

He described the exercises as “another snap check, similar to those that have been held in the past and will be held in the future”.