Russian official: military exercises may "further destabilize" Ukraine
MOSCOW. March 12 (Interfax-AVN) - Exercises that have just been launched by the Ukrainian military in eastern and southern parts of Ukraine threaten to "further destabilize the political situation in Ukraine," a Russian deputy defense minister said on Wednesday.
"An attempt at large-scale exercises of Ukrainian Armed Forces in the east and south of Ukraine, near regions where mass protests are being held against the coup, are quite a risky enterprise that can further destabilize the political situation in Ukraine," Anatoly Antonov told reporters.
Ukraine's acting defense minister Ihor Tenyukh said earlier on Wednesday that the Ukrainian Armed Forces had been put on high alert.
"We have put the Armed Forces on high alert. All Armed Forces are located on testing grounds in accordance with the military exercise plan, both in the eastern and southern areas, but the result is not good," he said in the parliament in Kyiv on Tuesday.
Ukraine's Ground Forces have 41,000 troops, of which 20,000 are to be on permanent readiness, Tenyukh said, adding that only 6,000 troops are on permanent readiness now.
The situation is extremely difficult and the General Staff and the Defense Ministry are doing everything possible to resolve this issue, he said. There is a need to create "a group that will be ready for action in the southern and eastern regions of the country," Tenyukh added.