SAMARA, October 18. /TASS/. Over 1,500 military servicemen from the peacekeeping brigade of Russia’s Central Military District have been put on alert in the Samara region as a snap check begins, the local military press service reported.

"The troops have carried out a march to the specific areas at the Roshchinsky military shooting range. The peacekeepers will train in fighting provocations and tricks of the conflicting parties aimed at destabilizing any situation. The drills involve more than 1,500 military servicemen and 400 units of military hardware," the press service said in a statement.

During the drills, the peacekeepers will guard the most important facilities in a simulated settlement, containing a municipality building, a school, a kindergarten, hospitals and a railway station.

They will also ensure the safe movement of the humanitarian aid convoys and the aid’s distribution between the simulated ‘residents’. In addition, the troops will be checking documents and baggage, and spot checking ‘civilians’ vehicles.

The first Russian peacekeeper brigade was formed in the Samara region in 2005. This is the only unit of this kind in Russia’s land forces.

The brigade’s chief objective is tackling peacekeeping tasks on the territory of the CIS member states, but if necessary it can act according to the UN’s mandate beyond CIS borders.