SEVASTOPOL, August 27. /TASS/. Russia’s Black Sea Fleet will land a marine and an airborne assault force on the Crimean coast as part of the large-scale drills underway in south Russia, the Fleet’s press office reported on Tuesday.
The personnel of the marine infantry and coastal defense brigades that have been redeployed to the Opuk training range will also be assigned the task of busting the channels of weapon and ammunition supplies to notional militants, destroying their hidden bases and camps and eliminating subversive groups, the press office said in a statement.
"At the concluding stage of the exercise, the marine infantry will land a marine and an airborne assault force onto the rough terrain using the large amphibious assault ship Azov, landing boats and Mi-8 military transport helicopters with the support of artillery, naval taskforces, tactical and army aviation," the statement says.
The military exercises of the Southern Military District are running in the Black Sea and at six training ranges in Crimea, the Krasnodar, Rostov and Volgograd Regions. They involve over 8,000 troops, more than 200 weapon systems, up to 30 aircraft and helicopters and around 10 ships and vessels.