RUSSIA: President Vladimir Putin salutes troops in largest Russian military drills since Soviet times

Record ID: 860904

  • Title: RUSSIA: President Vladimir Putin salutes troops in largest Russian military drills since Soviet times
  • Date: 17th July 2013
  • Summary: MOSCOW, RUSSIA (JULY 17, 2013) (REUTERS) RUSSIAN PRESIDENT VLADIMIR PUTIN AND MILITARY OFFICIALS WATCHING MILITARY DRILLS TANKS ROLLING ON GRASS PUTIN WATCHING MILITARY DRILLS THROUGH BINOCULARS TANKS ON GRASS MILITARY PLANES TAKING OFF PUTIN SPEAKING TO JOURNALISTS JOURNALIST ASKING QUESTION (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) RUSSIAN PRESIDENT VLADIMIR PUTIN, SAYING: "We can be proud of our army today. But I repeat, the exercises are not over. The troops are yet to return to their bases and this is not an easy task either. But I can already say that, on the whole, our forces have achieved the goals we set and performed more than satisfactorily. I want to thank the commanders and all servicemen for their service, their professionalism. I hope that the concluding part (of the exercise) will be performed in the same regime, with the same speed and quality." VARIOUS OF MEDIA
  • Embargoed: 1st August 2013 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Russian Federation
  • City:
  • Country: Russia
  • Topics: Domestic Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA5KVWWO8OXJHMTDD3PEIMQ16YK
  • Aspect Ratio:
  • Story Text: Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday (July 16) reviewed the largest military drills in Russia since Soviet times from Sakhalin Island in the country's far east.
    The drills, according to media reports, began on Friday (July 12) and involved 160,000 troops, 5,000 tanks, and 130 combat aircraft.
    Putin watched the drills together with Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu, who last year replaced Anatoly Serdyukov as head of Russia's armed forces.

    "We can be proud of our army today," Putin said talking to journalists after watching the military drills.

    "But I repeat, the exercises are not over. The troops are yet to return to their bases and this is not an easy task either. But I can already say that, on the whole, our forces have achieved the goals we set and performed more than satisfactorily. I want to thank the commanders and all servicemen for their service, their professionalism. I hope that the concluding part (of the exercise) will be performed in the same regime, with the same speed and quality," he added.
    Russia's Defence Ministry channels billions of tax dollars every year through Russia's huge defence industry, the world's second largest arms exporter.
    The drills, in Russia's Far East, send a clear signal of military might to Japan, with whom Russia has a dispute over a collection of Pacific Islands, called the Kuril Islands in Russia. It also sends a signal to China, Russia's populous neighbour, with whom it shares a 4,300-kilometer (2,700-mile) border.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2013. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register