Putin is playing games.
Posted on 03/16/2015 9:37:22 AM PDT by tcrlaf
The Russian military on Monday launched sweeping military manoeuvres in the Arctic and other areas, a show of force ordered by President Vladimir Putin amid spiraling 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 manueveres 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.
(Excerpt) Read more at theglobeandmail.com ...
But it's just that, chatter. Nothing confirmed about anything.
the last time the russian navy staged a large exercise, one of their submarines sank itself.
Might as well buy a good popcorn supply now — the next two years are going to be real interesting....with both China and Russia in the mix...
There was much activity there during WWII during the German invasion of Norway. Now it looks like Putin is gone bonkers. What is going on? WWIII?
I don’t want to say is’s aliens...
(sarc)
Exactly. Russia’s “shows of force” aren’t exactly scary these days. More akin to a tinhorn dictator beating his chest. Of course, the West lacks the will to stand up to anyone so maybe even a show of force by a dilapidated navy will get some concessions.
Megalomaniac
China must be thrilled to have this nut-job doing it’s bidding, as it bides it’s time before swallowing up Russia.
China is occupying Eastern Russia, and Putin’s focus is on the West, that has no intention of taking an inch of Russian soil.
This tells us all we need to know. Putin is simply replaying the last 100 years, so he can curry favor with the people in his nation too slow to have noticed this.
In his own way, he’s as big a threat to Russia as Obama is to the United States. They’re both mentally imbalanced.
How is Hillary’s reset button working out for you?
I guess they should have checked the instructions before resetting Russia back to the Soviet Union.
Putin is playing games.
Does he know Deadliest catch crewmember do their season in Fall and winter just saying
Russia has one aircraft carrier - one. They are a joke on the high seas.
Putin better watch his step before Barkey clocks his a$$. /s /s /s
Has Putin reappeared? I thought he was MIA.
I was on an exercise in northern Norway (Northern Wedding) in 1986. All I remember is it was COLD!!
My brother was on a fast attack sub in the 80’s. He said at the time they were very worried about the (I think) Akula class Soviet sub. Years later he went on a tour of on after the Soviet Union broke up. He said he’d rather go to sea on an old diesel sub from WW2 than one of those death traps.
“Russia has one aircraft carrier - one. They are a joke on the high seas.”
There is no land on the high seas. Who cares? Carriers can be sunk, then what?
Russian wargames in the area of a very special solar eclipse far from Moscow while Putin is still missing.
Popcorn time!
He was in Switzerland with his girlfriend who just gave birth to their new little comrade.
You don’t think that Aircraft carriers are part of being an ocean power?
Against whom? Third-world nations don’t have navies and couldn’t care less. Our carriers are not used to stop pirating, so why good are they there?
First-world nations have the ability to sink carriers rather easily, so they’re not any good there, either. This isn’t 1941 where flattops will win the war against a similar Japanese navy.
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