Kazakh armed forces put on alert

The Armed Forces of Kazakhstan were put on alert as part of snap drills to check their combat readiness, the Kazakh Ministry of Defense said.

"The Armed Forces of Kazakhstan have been brought to the highest degree of combat readiness last night during the surprise drills. For the first time this year, the troops were awakened during nighttime, which is a distinctive feature of the Kazakh army's current combat readiness check," Sputnik cited the statement as saying.

According to the ministry, the drills are the final part of the combat readiness training organized for the Armed Forces throughout the country, and special attention was paid to the anti-sabotage security measures.

"In the context of rapidly changing nature of armed conflicts, as well as the use of modern weapons and military technology it is important to improve the theoretical and practical knowledge of servicemen," the ministry noted.