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Military drills

Putin to visit southern Russia Friday to attend key stage of Kavkaz-2020 drills

MOSCOW, September 24. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin will pay a working visit to Russia’s Southern Federal District where the key part of the strategic drills dubbed Kavkaz-2020 will take place at the Kapustin Yar testing range, the Kremlin press service told reporters Thursday.

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"On September 25, the Russian president will pay a working visit to the Southern Federal District where the key part of the strategic command and staff drills Kavkaz-2020 will take place at the Kapustin Yar testing range," the statement reads.

The Kavkaz-2020 drills, running from September 21-26, led by Chief of the General Staff Army General Valery Gerasimov, are underway in Russia’s Southern Military District and in the Black and Caspian Seas. The exercise involves about 80,000 personnel, including officers from the Russian Emergencies Ministry and the Russian National Guard. Furthermore, this is a multinational endeavor which includes up to 1,000 servicemen from Armenia, Belarus, China, Myanmar and Pakistan. Representatives from Azerbaijan, Indonesia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Sri Lanka are participating as observers, according to the Russian Defense Ministry. In addition, Russia’s top brass said that roughly 250 tanks, up to 450 mechanized infantry fighting vehicles and APCs, as well as up to 200 artillery systems and multiple-launch rocket systems were set to be used in the exercise on firing grounds. About 12,900 troops are going to take part in activities in line with the 2011 Vienna Document of the Negotiations on Confidence-and Security-Building Measures.

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Military drills

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