Russian troops engaged in a frenzy of 'exercises' on the Ukrainian border yesterday hours after Vladimir Putin told US and NATO to 'go to hell', stoking fears of an invasion.
The drills come amid claims 'mass grave' sites, each capable of accommodating 100 bodies, are being prepared along the Ukrainian border ahead of a possible invasion by Russian forces.
Moscow has for weeks been massing tens of thousands of troops, tanks and artillery pieces along its eastern flank, sparking fears of an invasion, though the Kremlin has insisted it is merely a defence force.
More than 1,000 troops were involved in firing exercises in five regions yesterday while tanks conducted mobile defence drills involving 500 soldiers and Sukhoi Su-27SM3 fighter jets practiced challenging warships.
It came hours after Putin, speaking at his annual end-of-year press conference yesterday, accused NATO and the US of planning to deploy hypersonic missiles - which have not yet been successfully developed - to Ukraine.
The Russian strongman blamed NATO's militarisation of former Soviet states, such as Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, since the end of the Cold War for the current crisis and threatened that Russia 'can do anything at any cost' to protect itself.
In the Black Sea Sukhoi Su-27SM3 fighter jets stationed in Krasnodar drilled on challenging Western or Ukrainian warships seen as threatening the Russian border, defence sources said.
'In the course of training flights, Su-27SM3 duos escorted Sukhoi Su-34 fighter bombers and practised airborne duty, detection and following of mock transgressor ships demonstrating an intention to illegal cross the Russian sea border,' said a fleet statement.
Separately, the sprawling central military district announced a 50 per cent increase in drills for 2022, amounting to almost one every day.
Video shows a batch of five ultra modern MiG-31BM interceptor fighters which were deployed in the district. And in Kemerovo, tanks conducted mobile defence drills involving 500 troops.
LAUREN LEWIS and WILL STEWART FOR MAILONLINE
Russia has accused Ukraine of an 'act of terrorism' over a Molotov cocktail attack on its embassy in the city of Lviv amid soaring tensions after satellites revealed Vladimir Putin has moved hundreds of tanks to the border.
The Kremlin said Friday that an attacker hurled a petrol bomb at the Russian consulate in the eastern Ukrainian city, formally protesting and demanding apologies from Kiev.
Footage of the incident shows a man throwing a Molotov which appears to bounce off the walls of the building before exploding on the ground. The attacker then sprints away.
Ukrainian police in Lviv said they had launched an investigation over the incident, which they referred to as 'hooliganism'.
It comes as newly-published pictures dated December 13 show a new brigade-level unit comprised of several hundred armoured vehicles massed at a Russian base in Bakhchysarai, Crimea, around 110 miles from the Ukrainian border.
An October 7 satellite image of the same garrison showed the base was half empty, showing that the Kremlin has continued to build up its forces near Ukraine in recent weeks while pressing the United States for talks over security guarantees.
More Maxar Technologies images taken yesterday from the Crimea show an entire Russian battle group taking part in military exercises at the Opuk training area, between 150 and 160 miles from the border.
Tensions along Europe's eastern border have been simmering since Russian President Vladimir Putin annexed Crimea back in 2014, and have been threatening to boil over ever since Moscow began massing forces in the region starting in October after an earlier brief buildup in April this year.
Putin, speaking at his annual end-of-year conference on Thursday, said that Russia wanted to avoid conflict, but needed an 'immediate' response from the United States and its allies to its demands for security guarantees.
The Kremlin reiterated on Friday that it reserves the right to move its own forces on Russian territory as it sees fit and that Western countries were carrying out provocative military manoeuvres near its borders.
It comes after more than 1,000 Russian troops held a frenzy of military exercises including precision firing tests, mobile defence drills and practice flights along the Ukrainian border on Thursday.
And in another twist the drills come amid claims 'mass grave' sites, each capable of accommodating 100 bodies, are being prepared along the Ukrainian border ahead of a possible invasion by Russian forces.
1 comment:
Drudge is reporting that “thousands of troops are withdrawing” from the Ukrainian border.
Post a Comment