Russian Jets Hold Drills near Ukraine Border
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - The Russian military conducted fighter-jet drills in the southwestern Krasnodar region, close to Ukrainian territory.
The southern military district's Sukhoi-25 fighter jetsheld drills in overcoming enemy missile defence and firing at land targets.
The Kremlin ordered the new military exercises on Ukraine's border after the Ukrainian government said its troops killed five "terrorists" in operations to take back the pro-Russian stronghold of Slovyansk.
NATO estimates Russia has also deployed up to 40,000 troops to the border areas, Al Jazeera reported.
An amateur video published on Thursday showed a large Russian military convoy moving in the town of Novoshakhtinsk just 10 kilometres from the Ukrainian border.
The footage shows numerous military trucks, as well as tanks and armoured personnel carriers moving on a highway.
Russia has maintained it has the right to protect Russian-speakers if they come under threat, a reason it gave for annexing the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine last month.
Earlier on Thursday Ukraine's interior ministry said Ukrainian troops had killed the pro-Russian separatists in the Slovyansk operations as paratroopers took over three "illegal checkpoints" around the town, which has been in separatist control for almost two weeks.
Videos posted online showed smoke rising from barricades around the town. Reports said rebels had set fire to the barricades as they abandoned them and retreated from Ukranian forces.
Russian Defence Minister Sergie Shoigu said Russia was "compelled to react to such a situation".
"From today, military exercises have started in regions bordering Ukraine involving battalions of tactical forces of the southern and western military districts," Shoigu said.
Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, had warned earlier on Thursday that there would be consequences if the Ukraine army was used against pro-Russian activists.
