Russian Military Starts Another Major Military Exercise in Western Russia

Russia has launched fresh war games involving S-300 surface-to-air missiles on its southern flank as Ukraine demanded that Moscow explain separate three-day drills close to the border.The war games involving S-300 missiles, SU-24 attack aircraft and MiG-31 supersonic interceptor jets are taking place in the southern Astrakhan region and will end on Friday, a spokesman for the Central military district told AFP on Thursday.

The goal of the drills is to repel “a massive rocket strike,” the defense ministry said in a statement.The defense ministry spokesman, who requested anonymity, said the military maneuvers had been planned in advance, adding they were not linked to a spike in tensions with the West over Ukraine after the downing of a Malaysian passenger jet this month.

Separately, Russia’s air and space defense forces will in August conduct drills involving S-300 surface-to-air missiles and their next-generation version, the S-400, as well as the Pantsir-S1 air defense systems, a spokesman said.