MOSCOW, February 12. /TASS/. The Black Sea Fleet’s ships will practice defending the Crimean Peninsula’s coastline and naval bases during drills, the Fleet’s press office reported on Saturday.
"The ships and coastal defense troops of the Black Sea Fleet have departed from Sevastopol and Novorossiysk for combat training ranges during the initial stage of the drills running under the command of Black Sea Fleet Commander Admiral Igor Osipov" the press office said in a statement.
During the drills, the participating forces will practice defending the Crimean Peninsula’s coastline, the Black Sea Fleet’s naval bases, economic facilities, sea lanes and areas of maritime economic activity from a hypothetical enemy’s potential military threats, the press office specified.
"At various stages of the drills, the naval groups, coastal defense forces and naval aircraft will accomplish a set of missile and artillery firings and deliver missile and bombing strikes against naval, coastal and aerial targets," the statement says.
Over 30 combat ships of various classes from the Black Sea Fleet and other Fleets are involved in the drills as part of combined arms task forces, naval strike groups and detachments of amphibious assault ships. The participating warships include frigates, guard ships, missile corvettes and missile boats, amphibious assault ships, small anti-submarine warfare ships and mine countermeasures ships, the press office informed.
The drills of the Black Sea Fleet’s naval task forces, naval aviation and coastal defense troops are running as part of preparations for massive maneuvers under the direction of Russian Navy Commander-in-Chief Admiral Nikolay Yevmenov. Overall, the Russian Navy’s drills will bring together more than 140 combat ships and support vessels, over 60 aircraft, 1,000 items of military hardware and about 10,000 troops.