Updated Feb. 26, 2014 7:53 a.m. ET
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting in his Novo-Ogaryovo residence, outside Moscow, on Feb. 26. Agence France-Presse/Getty Images
MOSCOW—Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday ordered a test of combat readiness for troops stationed in a region that touches Ukraine's northern border.
The move comes amid growing tension between Russia and Ukraine, whose pro-Russian president, Viktor Yanukovych, was ousted by European-leaning protesters at the weekend following violence in which more than 80 people were killed. A warrant for his arrest was issued this week but he remains at large and is believed to be hiding in Crimea, a pro-Russian region on the Black Sea.
"In accordance with the decree of the president, today at 1400 [1000 GMT] troops were put on alert in the Western Military District as well as units stationed with the 2nd Army Central Military District Command involved in aerospace defense, airborne troops and long-range military transport aircraft," Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said, according to the Interfax news agency.
The Western District is based in St. Petersburg and stretches from Russia's western arctic to its border with Ukraine and Belarus. The central district is based in Yekaterinburg and stretches from Siberia to just west of the Ural Mountains.
Mr. Yanukovych's ouster has raised concerns in the West about the possibility of Russian military intervention in pro-Russian regions of Ukraine—particularly the Black Sea region of Crimea, where the Russian Black Sea Fleet is located. But Russian officials have said publicly that such a move is unlikely.
On Wednesday, the head of Russia's upper house ruled out military intervention.
"Such a scenario is impossible," Valentina Matvienko was quoted as saying by Interfax.
Ukraine's acting interior minister, Arsen Avakov, talking with supporters in front of the Ukrainian Parliament in Kiev, on Feb. 22. European Pressphoto Agency
She added that Russia has no intention of interfering in Ukraine's internal affairs.
Separately on Wednesday, Ukraine's acting interior minister signed an order dissolving the feared Berkut—a special antiriot unit of the police that had been blamed for some of the worst abuses during a wave of violence following months of protests that led to the collapse of the government.
"The Berkut are no more," acting minister Arsen Avakov wrote on his Facebook page early Wednesday morning.
He said he had signed a special decree disbanding the unit on Tuesday. Mr. Avakov had also announced on Tuesday that he had dismissed several top police officials and had appointed a special commission to investigate police misconduct and the abuse of authority during the violence that rocked the capital last week.
Reporters' Photos From Ukraine.
Protesters first took to the streets of Kiev in late November after Mr. Yanukovych walked away from a long-discussed trade partnership with the European Union in favor of closer economic ties with Russia.
Members of parliament have been working on creating a national unity government and say they hope to have one formed by Thursday. New presidential elections have been called for May 25. Ukraine's de facto government postponed efforts to form a new government on Tuesday as lawmakers jockey for position in a new government.
Members of the Fatherland Party, which has received most key positions in the interim government, said it would present candidates for a "government of national trust" on Wednesday evening to a "people's assembly" at Kiev's main Independence Square—the heart of the city's protest encampment.
It is unclear how the new government will be received by the protest groups in the street. Demonstrators reacted with boos on Friday when opposition leaders announced they had signed a peace agreement with Mr. Yanukovych to end the violence. He was deposed the next day.
Independent lawmaker Inna Bohoslovska has accused Fatherland, which has been energized by the release of its jailed leader, Yulia Tymoshenko , of "seizing power" and warned it could lead to a split in the opposition.
Vitali Klitschko, who leads the second-largest pro-European party in parliament, said that the government posts should be handed out "on the basis of professional and moral qualities." He added that "people shouldn't feel that politicians are again seizing power."
He announced on Tuesday that he would run for president. It isn't yet clear whether Ms. Tymoshenko, his likely main rival on a pro-European platform, would run.
On Wednesday, Ukraine named acting president Oleksandr Turchynov as the commander-in-chief of the army, according to a decree posted on the presidential website.
Ukraine is under extraordinary pressure to form a government as it faces imminent economic collapse. Russia's Finance Ministry says it isn't legally obligated to fulfill a $15 billion bailout agreement worked out with Mr. Yanukovych. Both the U.S. and the EU are urgently working to come up with a replacement deal and have extended an olive branch to Russia to join the effort.
Women hold pictures of protesters who were killed in clashes with police during recent demonstrations as they take part in a commemerative procession in central Kiev on Wednesday. Agence France-Presse/Getty Images
Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said Wednesday that Russia would be required to renegotiate the terms of the already disbursed $3 billion first tranche of the bailout if Ukraine violates its loan covenants.
"We have an agreement which determines particular covenants. If the covenants are violated, then we enter talks about the execution of our agreement," he said.
The deal had specified that Ukraine maintain a ratio of debt to gross domestic product below 60%, but the country has pushed dangerously close to that level due to a sharp depreciation of its currency, the hryvnia.
Mr. Siluanov didn't elaborate on what actions Moscow would take if the debt covenants are breached.
Write to Lukas I. Alpert at lukas.alpert@wsj.com
Corrections & Amplifications
Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov was speaking on Wednesday. An earlier version of this article incorrectly said he was speaking on Thursday.
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