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Central Russia’s special task forces on combat alert amid drills

The training assignments include live firing drills and combat vehicles maneuvering on rough terrain with the support of helicopters

MOSCOW, March 18. /TASS/. Special task forces from Russia’s Central Military District as well as army forces and aviation, deployed in the Volga area, Urals and in the West Siberia, were put on combat alert as part of the ongoing strategic command and staff exercise, a statement of the military district said on Wednesday.

"Having carried out all combat alert tasks, the detachments completed their redeployment to designated areas, where they started practising their training assignments," the statement said.

The training assignments include live firing drills and combat vehicles maneuvering on rough terrain with the support of helicopters, the statement added.

The Russian strategic command and staff exercise kicked off on Tuesday, when troops and forces of the Baltic Fleet, Southern Military District and Western Military District were put on high combat alert.

One day ahead of the strategic command and staff exercise a surprise inspection of the Northern Fleet and separate formations of the Western Military District was launched upon an order of Supreme Commander of the Russian Armed Forces Vladimir Putin, and is scheduled to run until March 21.

According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the snap check involves some 38,000 troops, 3,360 units of military hardware, 41 combat vessels, 15 submarines, 110 warplanes and helicopters.

Since the beginning of 2015, Russia's armed forces have held more than 30 exercises and drills across the country — from Kaliningrad to the Far East, from the Barents Sea to the Caspian and Black Seas. The exercises range from tactical drills of separate units to command-staff, strategic and international maneuvers. Some of them continue now. The military training involves all service arms — strategic, fighter, attack, bomber and transport aviation, warships and groupings of all fleets and flotillas of the Navy, conventional and rocket-launching artillery, tank and motorised infantry troops.