MOSCOW, (Sputnik) — Russia's Black Sea Fleet Naval Air Force, aircraft from Russia's Southern Military District's Air Force and Air Defense Force deployed in Crimea have carried out missile launches and air bombardment during a military exercise on the peninsula, the Fleet's Information Department Head Capt. 1st Rank Vyacheslav Trukhachev said Thursday.
"Today, during the tactical flight training of units of Black Sea Fleet Naval Air Force, servicemen of the Southern Military District's Air Force and Air Defense Force, deployed in Crimea, the pilots accomplished tasks to hit aerial and land targets in the area near the Opuk range," Trukhachev said.
Previous drills in Crimea were held last summer with the Russian Black Sea Fleet puting its naval and coastal defense units on high alert. The Russian Fleet's impromptu drills came amid Sea Breeze 2017, large-scale Black Sea naval drills co-hosted by the United States and Ukraine involving air, land, naval and amphibious forces.
