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Russia starts forming air assault battalion in Crimea

Under the existing plans, this battalion will be used as the basis to form the 97th air assault regiment in Crimea by late 2019

© Yuri Smituyk/TASS

MOSCOW, May 18. /TASS/. A separate air assault battalion of the 7th Guards air assault (mountain) division will be formed in Crimea by December 1, 2017, Head of the State Duma Defense Committee Colonel-General Vladimir Shamanov told TASS on Thursday.

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The air assault battalion will be stationed in Feodosiya and measures for its formation have already been launched, he added.

"By decision of the Russian Defense Ministry’s board, a separate air assault battalion will be formed in the Republic of Crimea by December 1 this year as part of the 7th Guards air assault (mountain) division. The battalion will be stationed near the city of Feodosiya in the eastern part of the peninsula," Shamanov said.

"Measures to form the battalion have been launched and it will be manned with contract servicemen," the Defense Committee head and former Russian Airborne Force commander said.

Under the existing plans, this battalion will be used as the basis to form the 97th air assault regiment in Crimea by late 2019. This will be the third such regiment within the 7th division.

"This battalion is planned to be transformed into the 97th air assault regiment by late 2019 to comprise three air assault battalions, some combat and support units," Shamanov said.

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S-400 air defense missile regiment to assume combat duty in Crimea

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