World On The BRINK of WW3 as RUSSIA Begins MILITARY EXERCISES Amid UKRAINE Tensions

Build up to WW3 as RUSSIA Begins MILITARY EXERCISES Amid UKRAINE Tensions






Russian combat pilots are training to attack "enemy" forces in search and destroy missions as tensions continue to build, with Ukraine's interim government complaining of a Russian military invasion after armed men seized control of an airport in Crimea.

Image: Russian Fighter Jet (Wiki Commons).

Following President Vladimir Putin's decision to order a snap combat readiness drill on February 26, troops and aircraft that were based in the western and central military districts of Russia have been redeployed to operational airfields as far as 500 kilometers away from their permanent bases.

"Crews will participate in search and rescue operations in the designated areas. In the training, pilots will also search for and destroy "enemy" forces and armoured objects on unfamiliar grounds," reports ITAR-TASS.

The nature of the drills clearly suggests that Russia is prepared to invade Ukrainian territory in the event of an escalation in the crisis, just as it sent troops into Georgia in 2008.

The development arrives on the back of complaints from Ukraine's interim government that Russia has launched a "military invasion" after armed men occupied Belbek international airport in Sevastopol, Crimea, where Russia has a naval base.

However, Moscow denies the claim, asserting that 50 armed men arrived at the airport to search for Ukrainian airborne troops but that they were not Russian soldiers. Eyewitnesses said the men were members of a local ethnic Russian "self-defense" militia.

Meanwhile, RIA Novosti reports, "Deposed Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych landed at a military airport in southern Russia late on Thursday escorted by fighter jets." Yanukovych is expected to give a speech shortly in which he will proclaim that he is still the legitimate President of Ukraine.

Confirming fears that far right extremists with links to neo-nazis could seize power in Ukraine, the controversial Svoboda Party has been given control of three ministries in the interim government.

After US Senator John McCain dined with Svoboda leader Oleh Tyahnybok in December, the anti-Semitic organization has captured three posts in the new government - the deputy prime minister position, the head of agriculture and the head of environment.

Russian lawmakers are proposing two bills that would simplify both the annexation of new territories into the Russian Federation and the process of granting Russian citizenship to Ukrainians, signaling that Moscow may attempt to absorb Crimea, Ukraine's peninsula which has very strong ties to Russia.

On Monday we covered reports indicating Russia had bolstered its forces in Crimea and the Black Sea following the success of the Euromaidan coup in Ukraine.

The heightened military posture was officially confirmed on Wednesday when Russian President Vladimir Putin put troops in Western Europe on alert and the Russian military began combat readiness drills in Western and Central Europe.

Following the move by Russia, NATO announced its "close and long-standing" relationship with Ukraine. "NATO is a sincere friend of Ukraine," said NATO boss Anders Fogh Rasmussen.

NATO arranged a joint commission with Ukraine in 1997. In 2008, it agreed the nation could join the NATO military alliance initially established during the Cold War.

"We stand ready to continue assisting Ukraine in its democratic reforms," he added.

Ukraine said on Thursday it would regard any movements by Russian military in Crimea outside the Russian Black Sea fleet's base in Sevastopol as an act of aggression.

Image: Russian Tank (Wikimedia Commons).

Acting President Oleksander Turchinov issued the warning in the national parliament after armed men seized the regional government and parliament buildings in Crimea, where some ethnic Russians want the region to join the Russian Federation.

Turchinov, who is also the head of Ukraine's armed forces, appealed for Moscow to adhere to the rules of an agreement which allows Russia's Black Sea fleet to be based in Sevastopol until 2042.