About 6000 soldiers have completed exercises in southern Russia

According to the Moscow Defense Ministry, more than 6,000 soldiers have returned to their bases after military exercises in southern Russia. The exercises included associations of the aviation forces of the Southern Military District, the authority announced on Monday.

So the combat readiness of the troops in the Russian Rostov and Volgograd regions was checked. In addition, 20 warships of the Black Sea Fleet returned to the naval bases in Novorossiysk and in Crimea on the Ukrainian Black Sea, which were annexed in 2014.

In the West, reports of Russian forces being deployed near the Ukrainian border have drawn criticism for weeks. It is feared that Moscow may plan to invade the neighboring country. Various Russian military exercises have also raised concerns in this regard. On the other hand, the Kremlin denied planning an attack on Ukraine.

Meanwhile, Russia accused Canada of accepting “anti-Russian policies” in the Ukraine crisis. Canada announced last week that it would extend its training mission in Ukraine for three years and send more troops in light of the current tensions. “From our point of view, there are attempts by the current regime in Kiev to maliciously use Ottawa for its anti-Russian policies,” Russian Ambassador to Canada Oleg Stepanov told Interfax.

SDA