Kiev assures Black Sea firing drills pose no threat to Crimean residents

Military & Defense November 30, 2016, 19:44

The Russian aviation watchdog earlier said that Ukraine had unilaterally decided in violation of all international treaties to hold missile launches in Russia’s sovereign airspace near Crimea

KIEV, November 30. /TASS/. Ukraine has taken all precaution measures to prepare for missile firing drills on the border with Crimea and rules out any threat for residents of the Black Sea peninsula, spokesman for Ukraine’s Air Force Command Roman Yurchilo said on Wednesday.

"The immediate launch area is located 90 km from the territory of Crimea, which fully rules out any threat for the peninsula’s residents," Yurchilo told the 112. Ukraine TV Channel.

"All safety measures have been used to hold the drills and risks that may emerge during the tests have been taken into account. The area of restricting the airspace on a temporary basis has been specified with the relevant coordinators, and also the time and the altitude of the ban on the use of the airspace have been determined," Yurchilo said.

During the period of control flight tests started at the practice range in the Kherson Region on November 28, "the Air Force command downsized the unsafe zone of launches in the southwestern portion of the Black Sea," the spokesman said.

The Russian aviation watchdog earlier said that Ukraine had unilaterally decided in violation of all international treaties to hold missile launches in Russia’s sovereign airspace near Crimea, in the area of civil and government planes’ routes, on December 1-2.

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