During the drills the joint force grouping will train to
repel attacks of a simulated enemy at the Opuk firing ground of the Southern
military district.
FEODOSIA, September 9. /TASS/. Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu has arrived in Crimea that is due to host one of key stages of the Caucasus-2016 strategic command and staff drills on Friday, Russia’s Defense Ministry official spokesman Igor Konashenkov told reporters.
"The defense ministry’s head will personally
inspect the actions of staff and forces during the Caucasus-2016 strategic
drills," Konashenkov said.
During the drills the joint force grouping will train to
repel attacks of a simulated enemy at the Opuk firing ground of the Southern
military district, the spokesman said. "All types and branches of forces
involved in the exercises will be engaged during this stage of maneuvers,"
he added.
According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the
Caucasus-2016 exercise has allowed the army commanders to practice the
organization of interaction with other security forces in special operations.
"The maneuvers have made it possible to assess the readiness of the
military command and control bodies to manage joint force groupings,"
Konashenkov said.
During the exercise, the formations of the First Tank Army, 20th Combined Arms Army of the Western Military District, the Second Combined Arms Army of the Central Military District, as well as units of formations of special forces of the country’s military districts and Airborne Forces in the shortest possible time have carried out redeployment covering a distance of more than 2,000 kilometers. Aviation of the military districts performed flights within the range of up to 4,000 kilometers.
The Kavkaz 2016 exercise is held in the territory of
Russia’s Southern Military District from September 5 to 10 under the command of
Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov. The
maneuvers involve command and control bodies and troops (forces) of the
Southern Military District, part of forces of the Central Military District and
Western Military District, the Northern Fleet, Aerospace Forces and Airborne
Forces, warships and auxiliary vessels of the Black Sea Fleet and the Caspian
Flotilla.
Source: ITAR-TASS 09-09-2016
