Putin Orders Army Drills as Merkel Accuses Russia on Ukraine
- Military tests combat readiness, Russian defense minister says
- NATO will protect member states, Merkel tells Estonians
Soldiers take part in tactical and the special training of electronic warfare divisions, in Yekaterinburg, Russia, on Aug. 18, 2016.
Photographer: Donat Sorokin/TASS via Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered snap military drills as German Chancellor Angela Merkel accused him of breaking international law in Ukraine and said NATO will defend member states against attack.
Combat readiness exercises are taking place “to defend the interests of the Russian Federation amid increasing threats to its security,” Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Thursday in a statement on the ministry’s website. Troops in Russia’s southern, central and western military districts, naval deployments in the Black Sea and Caspian Sea, and airborne forces are involved, he said.