Putin Said To Put Northern Fleet On Alert For Arctic Exercises
Russia's defense minister says President Vladimir Putin has ordered the navy's Northern Fleet and paratrooper units to go on full alert as part of snap military exercises in the Arctic.
State-run RIA news agency quoted Sergei Shoigu as saying on March 16 that Russia faced new threats to its security which forced it to boost its military strength and capabilities.
RIA reported that the drills were due to involve up to 40,000 troops, 41 warships, and 15 submarines.
"New challenges and threats to military security require the armed forces to further boost their capabilities. Special attention must be paid to strategic formations in the north," RIA quoted Shoigu as saying.
He said Putin, the armed forces commander in chief, issued the order for the exercises. Putin has not been seen in public since March 5.
Russia's annexation of Crimea and support for rebels in eastern Ukraine have driven relations between Moscow and the West to their lowest level since the Cold War.
Putin has stressed the importance of a strong Russian presence in the resource-rich Arctic region, where it shares a border with NATO member Norway.
Based on reporting by Reuters and RIA
Tusk presses EU leaders to pledge to keep sanctions on Russia
ROME/BRUSSELS, March 16 (Reuters) -- European Council President Donald Tusk is pressing EU leaders to pledge this week to keep sanctions on Russia until a Ukraine ceasefire deal is fully in place, effectively extending sanctions until at least the end of the year.
Europe must maintain pressure on Russia with sanctions until Ukraine has full control of its borders, Tusk said in an interview with several newspapers published on Monday.
"I'm sceptical about the goodwill of the Russians and I'm convinced that what's needed is to maintain pressure," he was quoted as saying by Italian daily La Stampa, one of six European newspapers which took part in the interview.
"We have to keep up sanctions until there is full respect for the (Minsk) agreements. That is until Kiev is responsible for its national frontiers," he was quoted as saying.
EU economic sanctions on Russia over the Ukraine conflict are due to expire in July. Some EU governments want the bloc to act now to renew them, while other want to delay a decision to see how a ceasefire in eastern Ukraine develops.
Tusk is pressing EU leaders, meeting in Brussels on Thursday and Friday, to decide this week that sanctions will not be lifted until Minsk is fulfilled and Ukraine regains control over its eastern border, a senior EU official said.