On July 17, Russia began massive “snap combat readiness” exercises of troops from the Western and Southern military districts, the Airborne Forces (Vozdushno-Desantnye Voyska—VDV) and marines of the North and Pacific fleets. According to Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, the maneuvers (which concluded on July 22) would be “A test of readiness to ensure the security of Russia’s southeast against terrorist threats and to prepare for [this fall’s] strategic Kavkaz 2020 exercise.”
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