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Russia begins checkoff

The biggest in the post-Soviet time

Photo ITAR-TASS

Photo ITAR-TASS

MOSCOW, July 13 (Itar-Tass) - Russia began at 01:00 Moscow time the biggest in the post-Soviet time checkoff, the Defence Ministry’s department of press service and information said on Saturday.

While in the Belgorod region, Putin also had a meeting with Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and ordered to begin very early in the morning of July 13 an unplanned inspection in the Eastern Military District. “"I am ordering to carry out an abrupt checkoff in the Eastern Military District, bring this order home to the personnel and put the troops of the Eastern Military District on full alert with their subsequent relocation to training areas and test grounds,” Putin said at a meeting with Shoigu on Friday. Pay special attention to their fulfilment of the objectives, to relocation of big masses of the military to the sites, to transport, to technical equipment and to medical services.”

The president explained the checkoff will continue the earlier military exercises in other military divisions, which had demonstrated their effectiveness.

“The mission will feature unions and divisions of the Central and Eastern Military districts, of the Pacific Fleet and Far and Military Transport Aviation of Russia’s Navy,” the defence ministry said.

"The main purpose of the activities is to test the readiness of units to perform assigned tasks, and assessment of the level of training of the staff, and technical readiness and formation of the units with arms and military equipment," the source said.

Troops of the Central and Eastern military districts will carry out the activities of bringing to readiness of military units and formations to perform assigned tasks, and then they will make a multi-kilometre march on unfamiliar grounds, located at a considerable distance from the point of permanent deployment, where they will hold bilateral tactical exercises with live fire.

The total number of involved military is over 80,000 troops, about one thousand tanks and armoured vehicles, 130 aircrafts and helicopters of far, military transport, fighting, bombing and the army aviation, as well as 70 ships of the Navy, the Defence Ministry reported.

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