Russian MoD summarises exercises in Crimea and on Ukrainian border

The Chief of the Russian Armed Forces General Staff, Army General Valery Gerasimov, has detailed the number of personnel and systems involved in a series of exercises conducted by the Russian Ministry of Defence (MoD) under its training schedule in April.

During a 29 April press briefing in Moscow, Gen Gerasimov said, Over 300,000 personnel, 35,000 systems, 180 vessels, and around 900 aircraft, including 15 long-range systems and 40 military transport aircraft, were involved.” He added that the Russian military conducted more than 4,000 training events and exercises at 500 ranges throughout Russia.

The troops achieved full readiness under the exercise scenarios, according to Gen Gerasimov, who said, “The units and formations involved in the inspections [exercises] redeployed over 3,500 km and concentrated in unfamiliar areas to conduct combat training. A Caspian Flotilla naval task force comprising 15 ships sailed 1,300 km from the Caspian Sea to the Black Sea. The Airborne Troops operated as part of a combined-arms formation in the southwestern strategic direction and airdropped 1,500 km away.”

The main goal of the exercises was to evaluate the functioning of the military authorities and troops, and to check their ability to conduct tasks in peacetime and wartime, according to the general.

Gen Gerasimov said the 1 May deadline set by Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu on 22 April was pushed back to 8 May for the 41st Combined Arms Army in Voronezh and to 12 May for the Airborne Troops in Crimea.