Russia plans to hold missile test launches the day after threatening a military response.
The Russian Defense Ministry said on Friday that the drills would be held on Saturday to test the combat readiness and weaponry of its nuclear and non- nuclear forces.
The ministry said in a statement that the exercise of the strategic deterrence forces was planned earlier to check the readiness of military command and control bodies, launch combat crews, crews of warships and strategic missile carriers to carry out assigned tasks.
The Southern Military District, Strategic Missile Forces, and Northern and Black Sea Fleets would take part in the exercises. The Southern Military District and Black Sea Fleet are located near Ukraine.
The state-owned TV network Zvezda reported that the Russian president would oversea the tests.
Russia warned that it could be forced to respond to the US if it did not agree to its security demands, which include permanently barring the former Soviet states of Georgia and Ukraine from joining NATO.
NATO, the US, and other countries have warned that an invasion could happen soon after Russia built up more than 100,000 troops along the Ukrainian border.
President Joe Biden said on Thursday that there was a very high risk that Russia would invade Ukraine in the next few days.
An international security monitor told the UN Security Council on Thursday that there were 500 explosions in Ukraine between Wednesday evening and Thursday morning.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned on Thursday that Russia plans to manufacture a pretext for its attack on Ukraine.
All Rights Reserved © 2024
