RUSSIA PREPARES IN TWO FRONTS
Russia has been flaunting its military strength with training drills taking place in the Black Sea.
Marines have undergone strict training in the cruel terrain with ships, missile boats and naval aviation teams all part of the operation.
Defence experts say that during the missions they stumbled across a previously undiscovered floating mine.
They had to destroy it to complete in the exercise safely.
Air defence training went on in the area as well as the anti-submarine machine Beriev Be-12 being used - a Soviet turbo-powered amphibious aircraft designed for anti-submarine and maritime patrol duties.Bombing practice also took place in the area with air, coastal and surface targets used in the training missions.
The Sukhoi Su-30, a twin-engine, two-seat fighter aircraft developed by Russia's Sukhoi Aviation Corporation, was also on display.
Russia has been flaunting its military strength with training drills taking place in the Black Sea
The display of strength comes amid mounting concerns in the West about planned war games by Russia and Belarus.
A war game is a military exercise carried out to test or improve the tactical expertise of a nation's armed forces.
The manoeuvers, to be held September 14-20 in Belarus and western Russia, have raised NATO concerns.
Some alliance members, including the Baltic states and Poland, have criticised Moscow for a lack of transparency and questioned its intentions.
Amid spiraling tensions over fighting in Ukraine, Western worries about the planned manoeuvers have ranged from allegations that Russia could keep its forces in Belarus after the drills, to fears of a surprise attack on the Baltics.
Marines have undergone strict training in the cruel terrain with ships, missile boats and naval aviation teams all part of the operation
Russia's Deputy Defense Minister, Lt. Gen. Alexander Fomin, rejected what he described as Western 'myths about the so-called Russian threat.'
'The most improbable scenarios have been floated,' he said at a briefing for foreign military attaches. 'Some have reached as far as to claim that the Zapad 2017 exercises will serve as a 'platform for invasion' and 'occupation' of Lithuania, Poland and Ukraine.'
Fomin said the Russian military will invite foreign observers to the manoeuvers, which will involve 5,500 Russian and 7,200 Belarusian troops, about 70 aircraft, up to 250 tanks, 200 artillery systems and 10 navy ships.
Bombing practice also took place in the area with air, coastal and surface targets used in the training missions
Moscow's assurances, however, have failed to assuage Russia's neighbours, which expect the drills to be far greater in scope than officially declared.
Estonian Defense Minister Juri Luik said last month that Moscow could deploy up to 100,000 troops for the manoeuvers. Poland's Deputy Defense Minister Michal Dworczyk also questioned Russia's official claims, saying that Warsaw expects many more Russian soldiers and equipment to be deployed.
Speaking Monday on Polish state Radio 1, Dworczyk expressed hope that the exercise 'will not include any aggressive scenarios' and won't cause any incidents, adding that 'operations on this scale always run this risk.'
The display of strength comes amid mounting concerns in the West about planned war games by Russia and Belarus
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said last week that the alliance will send two observers to the manoeuvers, but noted that access offered by Belarus does not constitute real monitoring. He said NATO is seeking 'a more thorough way of observing' the drills.
NATO has rotated military units in the Baltics and Poland and held regular drills in the region - activities that Moscow has criticised as a reflection of its hostile intentions.
The alliance has watched Russian military moves with growing concern following Moscow's 2014 annexation of Crimea and support for pro-Russian insurgents in eastern Ukraine. Russia had leased a naval base in Crimea prior to its seizure, and used troops deployed there to quickly overtake the Black Sea peninsula.
Two Russian stealth submarines tracked by massive Nato air operation arrive in Mediterranean to reinforce Putin's navy operating from Syrian base
- Vladimir Putin has ordered two of his stealth submarines to the Mediterranean
- The Russian president wants a permanent naval presence in the Syrian region
- A massive Nato air operation tracked the two submarines to the Mediterranean
- Aircraft from Norway, Icleand, Scotland and France followed the submarines
The 'Improved Kilo' class vessels spent almost two weeks cruising from northern Russia, past the Irish west coast and into the Mediterranean.
According to the Russian Ministry of Defence: 'The Black Sea fleet's new large diesel and electric submarines, Kolpino and Veliky Novgorod... have arrived in the Mediterranean.'
The 'Improved Kilo Class' submarine Veliky Novgorod diesel electric is one of Vladimir Putin's stealth submarines and has been sent into the Mediterranean on an extended patrol
The Veliky Novgorod is being joined by the submarine Kolpino, which was launched last year
Russia signed a 49-year deal with Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad to expand and modernise its naval base in Tartus, to allow vessels to operate freely and resupply in the Mediterranean
Nato aircraft based in Norway, Iceland, Scotland and France tracked the two submarines as they headed south.
The Russian ministry said the stealth submarines, which entered service in 2016 and have a speed of 20 knots under water, are intended to boost the Russian navy's permanent presence in the Mediterranean.The submarines, both with crews of 50 and built in the northwestern city of Saint Petersburg, are classified by NATO as 'Improved Kilo' class.
They are fitted with new navigation systems, fully automatised control systems, high-precision missiles and powerful torpedo equipment, the defence ministry said.
At Russia's Syrian base of Tartus in the eastern Mediterranean, Russian ships have played a prominent role backing up an aerial bombing campaign in support of leader Bashar al-Assad.
The Russian submarines spent almost two weeks cruising to the Mediterranean while being monitored from Nato aircraft from Iceland, Norway, Scotland and France
The two Improved Kilo class submarines are described as Russia's most stealthy
The Kolpino, pictured, was commissioned in St Petersburg on May 31, 2016
During its military intervention in Syria, Russia has deployed warships, submarines and aircraft carriers to the Mediterranean.
In December last year President Vladimir Putin signed an order to expand the naval base at Tartus and allow Russian warships into Syrian waters.
In January, Moscow and Damascus signed a 49-year deal for Russia to expand and modernise the facility.
Russian submarines used in the region are covered from Syria by Moscow's S-300 and S-400 missile systems - known to NATO as 'The Growler', and its Bastion coastal defence system.
According to official figures from last year, some 4,300 Russian military are deployed in Syria.
| Nato Classification | Improved Kilo |
|---|---|
| Underwater Speed | 20kts |
| Working dive depth | 240 metres |
| Maximum depth | 300 metres |
| Crew | 52 officers and crew |
| Length | 74 metres |
| Breadth | 10 metres |
| Underwater range | 400 miles |
| Cruising range in snort modeat 7kts | 7,500 miles |
| Weapons | 4 missiles |
| 18 torpedoes | |
| 24 mines |
Russia INSISTS it is not planning to invade Poland, Lithuania and the Ukraine after sending THOUSANDS of troops into Europe ahead of military war games
- Kremlin said the large-scale exercise would rehearse a purely defensive scenario
- The war games - Zapad 2017 - will take place in Belarus from September 14 to 20
- Officially, 13,000 soldiers are taking part, but experts warn it could be 100,000
- As well as troops, 700 pieces of Russian military equipment are also being sent
The Kremlin said on Tuesday the large-scale exercise in Belarus would rehearse a purely defensive scenario and that allegations it was a springboard to invade were false.
Ahead of the Zapad 2017 exercise, Moscow has said it sent 5,500 troops into the country which borders Poland, Lithuania and the Ukraine to join 7,200 Belarusian soldiers as well as 700 pieces of military equipment.
But experts have warned the true figure of troops could be nearer 100,000, prompting the US to send 600 soldiers to the area as a precautionary.
Russian paratroopers march during the celebrations of Paratroopers Day in the Red Square in Moscow, Russia, on August 2. The Russian military says major war games, the Zapad 2017 maneuvers, set for next month will not threaten anyone
Almost 700 pieces of military hardware will be deployed, including almost 250 tanks, 10 ships and various artillery and rocket systems
Russian soldiers compete during a team's run at the Army Scout Masters competition, part of Army Games, outside Novosibirsk, 2900 km (some 1800 miles) east of Moscow, Russia. The main event - the Zapad 2017 - will take place from September 14 to 20 in Belarus
Russia has used such exercises in the past as a precursor or as a cover to project force in other countries such as Georgia and Ukraine, and the war games are taking place at a time when East-West tensions are high.Lieutenant General Ben Hodges, the US Army's top general in Europe, said last month that US allies in eastern Europe and Ukraine were worried the exercises could be a Trojan horse aimed at leaving behind military equipment brought into Belarus.
The fears are not unsubstantiated, given that the Russians invaded the Ukrainian peninsular of Crimea in March 2014.
Vladimir Putin's officials have denied invasion rumours
And NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, who has warned that 'substantially more' troops may take part than will be officially divulged, said last week the alliance would be watching closely.
Russian Deputy Defence Minister Alexander Fomin told Western military attaches in Moscow on Tuesday the West had nothing to fear.
'Some people are even going as far as to say that the Zapad-2017 exercises will be used as a springboard to invade and occupy Lithuania, Poland or Ukraine,'Fomin said.
'Not a single one of these paradoxical versions has anything to do with reality.'
He called suggestions that Russia posed a threat to anyone 'myths'.
The drills, which will be held from September 14 to 20 in Belarus, western Russia and Russia's exclave of Kaliningrad, will simulate repelling an attack by extremist groups.
Fomin, who said the drills were routine and conducted every other year with ally Belarus, added: 'As well as its anti-terrorist backdrop, the Zapad 2017 exercise is of a purely defensive nature.'.
Moscow says almost 13,000 Russian and Belarussian servicemen will take part, as well as around 70 planes and helicopters.
Almost 700 pieces of military hardware will be deployed, including almost 250 tanks, 10 ships and various artillery and rocket systems.
Ahead of the Zapad 2017 exercise, Moscow has said it sent 5,500 troops into the country which borders Poland, Lithuania and the Ukraine to join 7,200 Belarusian soldiers as well as 700 pieces of military equipment
A soldier takes his gun off his neck. Russia has said it is sending 5,500 troops to Belarus to join their 7,200, but experts have warned the figure could be closer to 100,000
A self-propelled gun destroyer 2S25 Sprut-SD fires during the International military forum Army 2016 in Alabino, outside Moscow, Russia
Russia said the scale of the exercise was in line with international rules.
With less than 13,000 troops, international observation of the drills was not mandatory, it said.
Belarusian Deputy Defence Minister Oleg Belokonev, speaking in Minsk, said any troops and equipment brought into Belarus for the war games would be withdrawn afterwards.
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