Russia’s Pacific Fleet placed on high alert for snap drills

MOSCOW (AP) — Russia’s entire Pacific Fleet has been put on high alert for snap drills that will involve practice missile launches. The massive show of force comes amid tensions with the West over the fighting in Ukraine. Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu says the war games launched Friday are intended to test the Russian military’s capability to mount a response to aggression. He says the drills will also involve nuclear-capable long-range bombers. Shoigu says the scenario envisages a response to an adversary’s attempt to make a landing on Sakhalin Island and the southern Kuril Islands. Japan asserts territorial rights to the Kuril Islands, which it calls the Northern Territories.