VORONEZH. Jan 23 (Interfax-AVN) - Over 7,500 troops from military units of Russia's Western Military District stationed in the Voronezh, Belgorod, Bryansk, Smolensk, Kursk, Nizhny Novgorod, and regions have been put on alert for drills, the military district said on Wednesday.
Army command bodies, tank, motorized infantry, artillery, missile, air defense missile, radiation, chemical and biological protection, and electronic warfare units are involved in the drills.
"A commission from the Western Military District headquarters will monitor the quality of high-alert procedures, the security of deployment to unknown ranges, the organization of the command and deployment of field communication stations, and the practicing of area protection and defense measures," it said.
The troops involved in the drills will practice carrying out life-support measures during halts, responding to attacks by a simulated enemy, and getting oriented in an unfamiliar area.
The basic purpose of the drills is to test troops' capacity to perform their duties, the military district said.