Kathrine Frich
Conflicts stretching from Ukraine to the Middle East have fuelled fears of a broader global confrontation.
As rhetoric between Moscow and Western capitals intensifies, the language on both sides has grown increasingly stark.
Against that backdrop, Russia carried out a sweeping civil defence drill spanning the entire country.
Nationwide siren test
Air raid sirens sounded across Russia’s 11 time zones in a nationwide test of the emergency alert system.
The late-morning exercise instructed citizens not to panic but to switch on televisions or radios for official guidance.
In Yekaterinburg, regular programming was interrupted with a message reading: “ATTENTION EVERYONE! THE PUBLIC ALERT SYSTEM IS BEING TESTED! PLEASE REMAIN CALM!”.
Russia’s emergencies ministry said:
“The warning system is designed to promptly transmit a signal to the public in the event of a threat or emergency of natural or man-made origin.”
“On hearing a siren, you must remain calm and not panic. Turn on the television-any public channel or radio-and listen to the informational announcement.”
Aggressive rhetoric
The drill took place amid increasingly forceful statements from Kremlin-linked media figures, who have portrayed a wider global conflict as unavoidable in light of the war in Ukraine and rising tensions over Iran.
On state television, presenter Vladimir Solovyov questioned Britain’s military strength following remarks by UK Chief of the General Staff General Sir Roly Walker, who recently said: “We are on a collision course with a Russia that is on a war footing.”
Solovyov asked: “We just need to understand the size of the British army. How many do they have now?”
Military analyst Andrei Klintsevich responded: “75,000, including those with fur hats [bearskins] and so on.”
Threat to britain
Solovyov then claimed: “That’s two months of our work, and it will be completely destroyed, using conventional methods.”
He added: “This army will be worn down in two months.”
“Even strikes with conventional weapons and a large number of coffins going to Britain will raise the question: what are you idiots doing?”
He further asserted: “There are no logistics to deliver them there, nor anywhere to place them…. They will be immediately destroyed by precision strikes.”
According to publicly available estimates, Russia maintains around 1.5 million military personnel, despite heavy losses in Ukraine.
Sources: Daily Star; Russian state television broadcasts.
