ROSTOV-ON-DON, March 13. /TASS/. Almost 6,000 troops have been alerted in military units in Russia’s Southern Military District in a sudden combat readiness check, the press office of the district told TASS on Monday.

"The commander of forces in the district has ordered to start a sudden combat readiness check in some military formations and units deployed to the Krasnodar and Stavropol regions, the Astrakhan and Volgograd regions, Karachay-Cherkessia and Adygea, and also units of Russian military bases in the republics of Armenia and Abkhazia," the press office said in a statement.

The drills involve around 1,500 pieces of armament, military and special hardware, and more than 20 military staff and command bodies.

The formations and units involved in the drills have marched to the designated areas and started implementing tasks on their fortification and camouflage security, and also preparing equipment and armament to accomplish their mission.

"The major goal of the events is to check readiness of units to implement tasks and also assess the level of combat readiness of personnel," the press office said.

At the firing range in the district the forces will be involved in tactical maneuvers with combat firing and also combat and special training. A special focus will be made on implementing tasks on organizing control, cooperation between forces and comprehensive support.