MOSCOW
, July 25 (UPI) -- Russia's armed forces must be strengthened in response to "global threats
," Russian President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday.
Putin singled out local conflicts
, extremism and terrorist attacks
, the Interfax news agency reported. He also cited U.S. plans to deploy elements of its missile defense system in Europe.
"The all-round strengthening of the armed forces is an indisputable priority
," Putin said at a meeting with senior Russian military officers.
The comment came one day after Russia announced it will deploy the first air defense battalion equipped with new S-400 missile systems around Moscow
, RIA Novosti reported.
A Russian air force spokesman said Tuesday the battalion, equipped with the S-400 Triumf -- known within NATO as SA-21 Growler -- will be put on combat duty Aug. 6 around Moscow.
Col. Alexander Drobyshevsky said Russia successfully conducted live firing tests of the new system July 12-13. S-400 is designed to intercept and destroy airborne targets at a distance of up to 250 miles
, twice the range of U.S. Patriot missiles, RIA Novosti said.
The system reportedly can destroy stealth aircraft
, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles with an effective range of up to 2
,200 miles.
