Russia begins massive exercises to check emergency readiness

Russia’s Emergencies Ministry has said it will start three-day command and staff exercises in the Central and Southern federal districts on Monday to check the readiness for actions during the emergency situations.

The June 8-10 exercises are due to be conducted in two stages and will involve the ministry’s forces and other agencies as part of Single State System of Emergency Prevention and Elimination, the press service told TASS.

The emergencies ministry staff from Crimea, Sevastopol, as well as the Bryansk, Kursk, Belgorod, Voronezh, Rostov regions and the Krasnodar Territory will take part in the exercises, a spokesman said.

The drills are aimed at practicing the actions on eliminating the consequences of emergency situations, organizing primary disaster relief for the population and the evacuation to safe areas and also checking the urgent warning system for threats.