Russia launches another military exercise in country’s south, occupied Crimea

The Russian Ministry of Defense says more than 1,200 paratroopers and more than 250 units of military hardware equipment were involved in live-fire exercises in the occupied Crimea and Russia’s Krasnodar Territory.

That’s according to Interfax, as reported by Ukrinform.

"The exercises will be held as part of operational deployment of commanding officers, led by Airborne Assault Forces Commander Colonel-General Andrei Serdyukov. In total, more than 1,200 servicemen and more than 250 units of military and special hardware will be involved," the defense ministry said.

It is noted that the maneuvers start on December 23 in the occupied Crimea at the Opuk range and December 24 - at the Raevsky training ground near Novorossiysk in Krasnodar Territory.

Last week, Russia ran in the occupied Crimea a joint exercise involving navy’s fighter jets and bombers with units operating the Bastion coastal anti-ship missile system to destroy a surface training target in the Black Sea.

As reported, in recent weeks, Russia has amassed nearly 100,000 troops on the border with Ukraine. The latest maneuvers have raised great concern among Western governments over the fears of Moscow's offensive on Ukraine. NATO has warned Russia that such a move would have far-reaching "strategic and economic" consequences. Moscow denies plans of invading Ukraine, explains the latest buildup with the efforts to prevent Ukraine from joining NATO.

On December 5, Ukraine’s Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov said the total number of Russian troops at the Ukrainian border could rise to 175,000.

According to Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar, the situation around Ukraine's borders remains difficult, and Russia continues to deploy troops to maintain tensions in the region.

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