Vladimir Putin in the Caucasus for the last act of grand maneuvers
Russian President Vladimir Putin during celebrations for the 75th anniversary of the victory over the Nazis in Moscow, June 24, 2020. Alexei Nikolsky / Kremlin Pool Photo via AP
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Russian President Vladimir Putin is going to the Caucasus this Friday to attend the last maneuvers of a military exercise organized since last Monday.
Although annual, this exercise, which put 80,000 men on alert near the Caspian Sea and the Black Sea, detonates at a time when Russia is facing several hot issues.
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With our special correspondent in Volgograd,
Paul Gogo
A desert of dusty lands and a first salute of rockets.
On Thursday, September 24, the Proudboy shooting range, not far from Volgograd in southern Russia, was on high alert.
Heavy artillery, tanks and combat helicopters had to repel an imaginary enemy.
This enemy whose name we do not say, some would call it
NATO
.
But on the shooting ranges, the word is taboo.
Two NATO members, the United States and the United Kingdom, this week sent a few hundred men across Crimea, in Ukraine, to take part in an unprecedented military exercise.
A response to Russian maneuvers.
China, Belarus, Burma and Armenia
But on the Russian side, no less than 80,000 men have been engaged since Monday, September 21 in these joint military exercises.
“
We do the exercises regularly.
The rest of the time, we train to be ready.
Today, our mission was to support the troops advancing in the face of a conditional enemy.
We had to make sure that the advance went smoothly
, ”commented Alexeï Malinovski, commander of an armored unit.
In the Caspian Sea, the Russian navy is maneuvering in concert with the Iranian navy.
In the Black Sea region, China,
Belarus
, Burma and Armenia will participate, this Friday, September 25, in the final phases of the exercise.
Vladimir Putin will lead these maneuvers in person.
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