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Over 5,000 Russian troops kick off drills in Siberia, Urals and Volga area

In the course of the maneuvers, the troops will practice alternating an offensive with reconnaissance and search operations, flank raids and employing ambush and fire groups in interaction with the teams of Orlan-10 drones, Msta tube artillery and Grad multiple launch rocket systems and Sani mortars

YEKATERINBURG, February 15. /TASS/. Over 5,000 troops of Russia’s Central Military District are participating in the drills that began in Siberia, the Urals and the Volga area, the District’s press office reported on Monday.

"The force-on-force company-level tactical drills involve units of motor rifle brigades stationed in the Altai, Kemerovo, Orenburg and Samara Regions, units of the armored division stationed in the Sverdlovsk and Chelyabinsk Regions, and the Russian military base in Tajikistan," the press office said in a statement.

In the course of the maneuvers, the troops will practice alternating an offensive with reconnaissance and search operations, flank raids and employing ambush and fire groups in interaction with the teams of Orlan-10 drones, Msta tube artillery and Grad multiple launch rocket systems and Sani mortars," the statement says.

Army aviation involving Mi-24 attack helicopters and Mi-8 multirole transport rotorcraft will provide support for the troops from the air. The drills will come to an end at the end of the week, the Central Military District reported.

Russia’s Central Military District is based on the territory of the Volga, Urals and Siberian integrated federal districts and 29 Russian regions. Structurally, the Central Military District also includes some overseas facilities: the 201st military base in Tajikistan, the Kant integrated military base in Kyrgyzstan and units stationed on the territory of Kazakhstan.

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