Putin Orders Snap Combat-Readiness Check in Eastern Russia

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday ordered a snap check of combat readiness to begin that night in the Eastern Military District.

The exercise will be the third non-routine check of combat readiness since the beginning of the year and follows a major shake-up at the top of a military establishment tarnished by persistent evidence of rampant corruption.

Putin on Friday told Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu to inform Russia’s foreign allies that the maneuvers would take place, adding that during the exercise “special attention should be paid to … the mobility of large military units ... and the provision of medical aid.”

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