'Attention - remain calm': Russia tests public warning system

People, including Russian law enforcement officers, walk near St. Basil's Cathedral and the Kremlin's Spasskaya Tower in Red Square in central Moscow, Russia, March 20, 2023. REUTERS/Evgenia Novozhenina/files

MOSCOW (Reuters) -Russia tested its emergency public warning systems across the country on Wednesday, blaring out sirens and interrupting some television and radio broadcasts to warn the population to stay calm.

The test, first conducted in 2020, is part of a new initiative that requires authorities to conduct tests twice a year, starting from Sept. 1.