Putin Orders Northern Fleet to Full Alert for Combat Readiness Drills

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Russian President Vladimir Putin gave the order to bring the country’s Northern Fleet to full alert in a snap combat readiness exercise Monday, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said.

“The main task of the [combat readiness drill] is to assess the armed forces from the Northern Fleet’s capabilities in fulfilling tasks in providing military security of the Russian Federation in the Arctic region,” Gen. Shoigu said.

The Northern Fleet was brought to alert at 8:00 a.m. Moscow time (05:00 GMT) and includes 38,000 military personnel, 3,360 pieces of equipment, 41 ships, 15 submarines, and 110 airplanes and helicopters, Shoigu added.

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http://sputniknews.com/military/20150316…z3UX3yOLVb
http://www.breakingnews.com/
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/03/1…JO20150316
http://tass.ru/en/russia/782905
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/worl…18356.html

Putin orders combat alert for Northern Fleet (RT NEWS)

President Vladimir Putin has ordered the Northern Fleet, certain units of airborne forces and the Western Military District to be put on full combat alert from 05:00 GMT on Monday, TASS reported. Snap checks will serve to evaluate the capabilities of the Northern Fleet to ensure Russia’s military security in the Arctic, according to Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu.

http://rt.com/news/line/2015-03-16/#83857

Now being reported on reuters

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/03/1…JO20150316