The President gave instructions to hold a surprise military inspection in the Eastern Military District and put the Eastern Military District troops on full alert in the early hours of July 13, and then deliver them to training grounds.
Given the scale of the upcoming exercises and taking into account current international practices, President Putin instructed the Defence Minister to brief the Russian Federation’s foreign partners on the upcoming military exercise.
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President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Mr Shoigu,
You and I have held several surprise inspections and subsequent exercises in the Southern, Western, and Central Military Districts. Experience shows that these events are highly useful and effective in identifying problems and correcting them.
I instruct you to hold the same type of surprise inspection in the Eastern Military District, to convey these instructions to all personnel, and to put the troops of the Eastern Military District on full alert at 01:00 on July 13, subsequently transferring them to their training areas, to the practice grounds.
It is important to give particular attention to fulfilling the objectives before us, moving large numbers of military personnel to assembly areas, providing transportation, logistical and medical support.
I am asking you to take all the necessary measures to assure safety, to make the necessary arrangements to prevent damage to state property, private property and farmland.
Please also take measures related to sea and vessels rescues, including the underwater fleet rescues. I ask that you brief me regularly over the course of this process.
I will now look at my schedule, and it is possible that I will participate in some of the events testing how these instructions are carried out.
Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu: Will be done, Mr President.
