Russia announced on Saturday, January 21, that it conducted air defense exercises in the Moscow Region to protect its key infrastructure “air strikes“. “In the Moscow region, military exercises were conducted with the participation of the personnel of the anti-aircraft missile brigade of the Western Military District in order to repel air attacks on important military, industrial and administrative infrastructures.“, said the press release of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation.
The Kremlin refused to say on Friday whether it was planning external strikes on Moscow after images of air defense systems being installed in the Russian capital appeared on social media. The images appear to show Pantsir S-1 systems designed specifically to intercept cruise and ballistic missiles. Muscovites saw one appear near the Ministry of Defense building, or another climb onto the roof of a building in central Moscow.
Asked whether Russia fears that Moscow will be a target, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov turned to the Ministry of Defense on Friday. “They are responsible for ensuring the security of the country in general and the capital in particular, so it is best to ask the Ministry of Defense about all measures taken.“, he told the journalists.
He was trained in the use of “S-300 anti-aircraft missiles”.
According to the Ministry, the Russian soldiers who participated in these military exercises were trained “S-300 anti-aircraft missiles“. In general, “More than 150 soldiers and more than 30 units of weapons, military and special equipment participatedthe same source said. However, the Russian defense did not specify when these military exercises took place.
Russia has suffered several attacks attributed to Ukraine in recent months, whether sabotage or drone strikes and artillery fire on border areas. In December, Moscow accused Ukraine of several drone strikes on the Engels strategic bomber base, located in the Saratov region, 600 km from the Ukrainian border.
Kiev is demanding the West supply long-range weapons to strike deep into Russian logistics lines. However, the latter fear that such weapons will lead to the escalation of the conflict that started in 2022.
Source: Le Figaro
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