MOSCOW, June 9. /TASS/. About 2,000 troops began drills at the Totsky practice range in the Orenburg Region, the press office of Russia’s Central Military District reported on Wednesday.

"Drills involving aviation, artillery, and tanks have begun in the Orenburg Region as part of the summer training period of the personnel of the Central Military District," the press office said in a statement.

In the course of the drills on the Totsky training ground, the troops will sharpen the skills of accomplishing assignments in offensive and defense tasks and live-fire the guns of upgraded T-72B3 tanks, Msta-S self-propelled artillery howitzers, Grad and Uragan multiple rocket launchers, the statement says.

Overall, the drills involve about 2,000 personnel and more than 350 items of military hardware, including Su-24 frontline bombers, Mi-24 and Mi-8 helicopters, Leyer drones, and Borisoglebsk-2 electronic warfare systems, the press office specified.

The Central Military District is the largest in Russia. It 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.