Putin: Military Must Fix Flaws Exposed In Exercises

Moscow, 1 March 2004 (RFE/RL) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin today urged the military to identify and correct the errors that occurred in last month's military exercises, which were observed by the president.

Putin told a meeting of top military officials that new exercises, possibly on a smaller scale, should be planned so that he can make sure all problems have been solved.

Two ballistic missiles failed to take off and a third went off course during the massive military exercises in the Barents Sea, described as the largest such maneuvers in over 20 years.

Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said analysis of the errors is under way.