By Ali Cura
MOSCOW (AA) - Russia on Saturday launched a wide-ranging exercise involving strategic forces amid growing tensions in eastern Ukraine.
Russian President Vladimir Putin gave the instruction to start the drill and is personally overseeing the launch of ballistic missiles in the drill along with his Belarussian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko from Kremlin.
According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the Russian Aerospace Forces, Southern Military District, Strategic Missile Forces, and the Northern and Black Sea fleets will participate in the drill.
US President Joe Biden warned on Friday that Russia is on the brink of invading Ukraine within “several days.”
Moscow has repeatedly denied any plan to invade Ukraine and accused Western countries of undermining Russia’s security through NATO’s expansion toward its borders.
It also issued a list of security demands to the West, including a rollback of troop deployments from some ex-Soviet states and guarantees that Ukraine and Georgia would not join NATO.
* Writing by Ahmet Gencturk