By Joseph Jankowski

40 million Russians are set to take place in a four-day civil defense emergency evacuation and disaster preparedness drill starting Tuesday.

The drill is occurring as relations between Russia and the US disintegrate over the war in Syria.

Dubbed the “Organization of civil defense during large natural and man-caused disasters in the Russian Federation,” the drill will involve federal and regional executive authorities and local governments. It will take place in all constituent territories of Russia and last until October 7.

“Our priority during the drill is to train evacuation of the civilian population from potentially-risky areas,” Emergencies Minister Vladimir Puchkov, who oversees all civil defense in Russia, told Interfax.

The simulation will include 200,000 specialists of emergency rescue divisions and about 50,000 units of equipment are going to be involved.

According to the Russian Ministry for Civil Defense, the “main goal of the drill is to practice organization of management during civil defense events and emergency and fire management, to check preparedness of management bodies and forces of civil defense on all levels to respond to natural and man-made disasters and to take civil defense measures.”

The drill has many wondering if Russia is conducting this Cold War era style event as a reaction to the tension between East and West over the conflict in Syria.

Just yesterday the U.S. State Department announced that it would suspend bilateral discussions with Russia over Syria, which followed with the U.S. calling home personnel who had been sent to Geneva in order to set-up a “Joint Implementation Center” with Russian officers to plan coordinated strikes.

Russia also called an end to its participation in a plutonium cleanup accord with the US.

The drill is occurring in the wake of U.S. State Department spokesman John Kirby’s warning that Russian cities could suffer terrorist attacks if Vladimir Putin continued his military campaign in Syria.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova responded to Kirby’s statement by suggesting that it came off as, “more like a ‘get ’em’ command, rather than a diplomatic comment.”

Joseph Jankowski is a contributor for Planet Free Will.com. His works have been published by recognizable alternative news sites like GlobalResearch.ca, ActivistPost.com, Mintpressnews.com and ZeroHedge.com.

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