Russia launches snap drill in three military districts

The Russian Armed forces have started snap military drill involving three of the country's four military districts, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Thursday.

"The check will be held from Aug. 25 to Aug. 31," Shoigu said at a meeting with senior commanders of the Armed Forces, without providing numbers of the troops and equipment participating in the drill.

He said the exercise would focus on the full cycle of the Armed Forces to "defend Russia's interests amid growing security threats."

In the course of the drill, troops in the Southern Military District will demonstrate their capacity to rapidly deploy self-sufficient groups of forces for containing crises, Shoigu said.

Also to be checked will be the ability of the Western and Central military districts to beef up forces in the southwestern strategic sector, he added.

The Airborne Forces will exercise transportation of troops to unfamiliar areas using various means of landing from aircraft and helicopters, the minister said.

The Central, Northern, and Southern military districts cover most of the Russian territory except for eastern Siberia and the Far East. Endi