Putin Tests Combat Readiness as Separatists Press Ahead

[Purveyor]

By Olga Tanas, Daria Marchak and Daryna Krasnolutska May 8, 2014 10:13 AM ET

President Vladimir Putin said Russia is testing its army’s combat readiness, ramping up tensions after pledging a pullback from Ukraine’s border. Pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine vowed to press ahead with autonomy votes.

NATO said there’s no sign of any Russian withdrawal from the frontier. The Russian leader’s latest statement came less than 24 hours after a shift of tone on Ukraine, in which he urged the separatists in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions to postpone balloting scheduled for May 11.

“Today’s planned exercises will involve all of the armed forces across Russia, including our nuclear deterrent,” Putin said at the Defense Ministry in Moscow, where he watched the drills by video link.

Russia has massed about 40,000 troops along the Ukrainian border, according to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. The government in Kiev and its U.S. and European allies accuse Russia of fomenting separatist unrest in eastern Ukraine and warn that Putin may follow his annexation of Crimea with another land grab against his neighbor.

more...

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-05-08/putin-urges-east-ukraine-vote-delay-claims-army-pullback.html

[sharp_stick]

1. Good old Vladamir Jong-Un

Such a trustworthy leader. Even the KGB had a better record of pretending to do something after saying they were going to do it. This guy doesn't even bother.