Military expert Vladislav Shurygin on Tuesday, January 25, in an interview with Izvestia, commented on the ongoing check of combat readiness of formations and military units of the Southern Military District (SE).
He stressed that sudden inspections are carried out several times a year and there is nothing supernatural about it.
"But for many, the very phrase "Southern District" sounds alarming. It is obvious that it borders, among other things, with Ukraine. Of course, in the West, this test will be used for propaganda purposes. <...> It is obvious that for them such actions are exciting and exciting. There is a war game going on, the one that propagandists call rattling weapons or playing with muscles," the expert noted.
Earlier in the day, the press service of the Southern Military District reported that formations and military units were alerted to check combat readiness. More than 6 thousand servicemen went to the training grounds to perform combat training tasks.
The Western media has repeatedly published articles about the alleged possible Russian invasion of Ukraine. Against this background, American lawmakers are calling for tougher sanctions against Moscow. Russia has repeatedly rejected information about an alleged possible invasion of Ukraine. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov noted that Moscow has no intentions to attack Ukraine and cannot be.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated that Russia has never threatened the Ukrainian people. In addition, the Foreign Ministry has repeatedly stressed that the Russian Federation has not attacked and does not plan to attack Ukraine.
On January 24, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the actions of the United States and NATO lead to an escalation of tension in Ukraine. He pointed out that it is "carried out through informational actions and concrete actions that the United States and NATO are taking." In his opinion, there are a lot of rumors and unreliable data about the situation in Ukraine and the allegedly planned attack by Russia, which are "information hysteria".
In turn, the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, stressed that Ukraine is perceived by the West as an instrument of influence, pursuing its interests in the region, destabilizing the situation, influencing some processes and accusing Russia. She pointed out that Western countries have no facts proving Russia's aggression or any violation of international law, as well as non-partner relations.
