Amid this exercise and many more that already transpired throughout 2014, it sounds like someone’s gearing up for a blitzkrieg on Ukraine, plus preparing for defensive measures against any counter-attack. From a military standpoint, Ukraine is crucially strategic. It allows for Russia to be on Europe’s doorstep or NATO to be on Moscow’s doorstep. 2015 should be quite an interesting year if the end of 2014 won’t.
Lest we forget what one of Putin’s henchmen stated: They must strike first and carpet bomb all the way into the Baltic states and even Poland — half an hour before NATO even wakes up.
Should that ever transpire, NATO will be effectively dead as an organization and kicked out of Europe within days.
The drills took place December 5-10, the head of the main Operation Directorate of General Staff, Lieutenant General Andrey Kartapolov announced on Tuesday. Military units and formations deployed in the Western Military District were brought to their highest level of combat readiness at 7 p.m. Moscow time on December 5.
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Tactical Iskander-M ballistic missile systems of the Western Military District’s missile brigade were rapidly transferred from Russia’s mainland to conduct off-the-march combat training tasks. Within two days, two brigades were deployed in Kaliningrad by the military transport aircraft and vessels of the Baltic Fleet.
Meanwhile, the Air Defense forces repelled a simulated attack of the maneuver enemy on strategic government and military installations. The tactical border protection exercises also included sea and underwater drills.
A fully operational and self-sufficient interspecific group of troops was created within a “very short period of time,” Kartapolov said, adding that currently all the units taking part in tactical exercises have returned to the places of their permanent deployment.
Full article: Russian military completes rapid-deployment drills in Kaliningrad (Russia Today)
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