Holding Russian ballistic missile and cruise missile maneuvers under Putin’s supervision

According to the Russian Defense Ministry, Russian President Vladimir Putin will oversee military exercises on Saturday with the presence of Russian “strategic forces”, which include the launch of ballistic missiles and cruise missiles.

The news of the exercise comes as Russia announces a withdrawal of troops amid tensions between the West and Moscow over Ukraine. Russia’s Defense Ministry said Friday that Putin would oversee a “planned exercise of strategic deterrence … during which ballistic and cruise missiles will be fired.”

The exercise will involve the Air Force, units of the Southern Military District, as well as Russia’s Northern Fleet and Black Sea, the statement said.

Despite the withdrawal of Russian troops from the border areas with Ukraine in order to reduce tensions, the West has again claimed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and at the same time clashes between Ukrainian troops and independence fighters in the east of the country are increasing. Local media reported today (Friday) that the Ukrainian army and forces of the self-proclaimed governments of Luhansk and Donetsk exchanged fire and shelling. According to Reuters, 60 violations of the ceasefire agreement between Ukraine and the eastern part of the country were registered 60 times on Friday alone, which has intensified tensions.

In the latest allegations against Russia, the Washington Post claims that the latest US intelligence assessment is that Russia withdrew from the Ukrainian border with the aim of misleading the United States and its allies. (More details)

Tensions between Ukraine and the West have intensified in recent years, especially since the annexation of the Crimean peninsula to Russia in 2014, and have peaked in recent weeks with Western claims that Russia intends to invade Ukraine. The peninsula seceded from Ukraine after joining a Russian-backed group following the fall of Ukraine’s central government and the rise to power of pro-Russian groups in eastern Ukraine.

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