Vladimir
Putin has put on a show of Russia's military strength after mobilising
the entire 'Northern Fleet' of 45,000 troops, 41 ships, 15 submarines
and 110 aircraft.
In
what was one of the Kremlin's biggest shows of force since its ties
with the West plunged to Cold War-lows, the exercises seemed to be aimed
at dwarfing Nato drills in neighbouring Norway.
President
Mr Putin - who has promised to spend more than 21 trillion roubles
(£228billion) by the end of the decade to overhaul Russia's fighting
forces - called the fleet to full combat readiness.
The
country’s defence minister Sergei Shoigu said: ‘New challenges and
threats to military security require the armed forces to further boost
their military capabilities.’
‘Special attention must be paid to newly created strategic formations in the north.’
Norway is currently holding its ‘Joint
Viking’ drills involving 5,000 troops in Finnmark county, which borders
Russia in the resource-rich Arctic circle where both countries are vying
for influence.
Nato made new allegations last week that
Russia was arming separatists in east Ukraine, where more than 6,000
people have been killed in nearly a year of fighting.
The
intercepts have forced civilian planes to change their courses and
Britain scrambled Typhoon interceptor planes after two long-range
bombers flew over the English Channel.
Norway said its military drills had been planned before the Ukraine crisis.
‘However,
the current security situation in Europe shows that the exercise is
more relevant than ever,’ Lieutenant General Haga Lunde said.
The
Russian exercises are due to last for much of the week during which
Russia will celebrate its annexation of the Ukrainian peninsula of
Crimea, carried out with the help of special forces
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