MOSCOW, March 26. /TASS/. The snap check of Russia’s Northern Fleet has made it possible to assess the real level of the troops’ combat readiness and confirmed their capability to ensure Russian security in the Arctic, Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said on Thursday.
- Putin hopes for more snap checks in Russian army in 2015
- Russian army combat readiness check no muscle flexing — Defense Ministry
- Russian army snap checks pose no threat to other states - General Staff
- Arctic snap check involves 80,000 servicemen — Russia's General Staff
- Russian airborne troops land in two Arctic areas within combat readiness snap check
- Chief of Russian General Staff checks readiness of naval strategic nuclear forces
- Motorized infantry of Russia's Western Military District on combat alert amid snap check
- Russian strategic bombers to be redeployed to Crimea amid snap check — source
- Russian army snap check not linked to international situation — Kremlin
"The main objective of the check was to assess the Northern Fleet forces’ capability to fulfil tasks to ensure Russia’s military security in the Arctic region, as well as peaceful navigation on the Northern Sea Route," Shoigu said at a meeting of the Public Council at the Defense Ministry.
The minister said that the inspection that was held on March 16 - 21 involved up to 80,000 troops and more than 12,000 military equipment units, 65 warships and submarines, 220 warplanes and helicopters.
"Within the check framework we drilled troops’ movement to the Kola Peninsula, the Novaya Zemlya, Franz Joseph Land Islands and others, state border protection on the ground, in the air and at sea, formation of Northern Fleet force groupings and performing missions by them in the areas of the Barents and Norwegian Seas," the minister said.
He also said that "duty shifts of Russia’s National Defense Control Center regional centers of the military districts and service arms were in command and control of the troops." According to previous reports, the March snap check was the first event of such a large scale for the country’s defence control centre, which was put into operation on December 1, 2014.
The Defence Ministry and General Staff have positively assessed the results of the troops’ inspection.