On Tuesday, August 18, large-scale military exercises started in the Southern Military District of the Russian Federation, including the occupied Crimea. In total, more than 2 thousand servicemen and about 250 pieces of equipment were involved in the exercises. This was reported by the press service of the Russian Defense Ministry.
It is noted that the exercises started simultaneously at 25 training grounds and will last until August 21.
“It is planned that logistics specialists, in cooperation with military units, storage organizations for military property and weapons, Rosrezerv institutions, will work out special tasks in a single concept of four bilateral tactical exercises with the district's formations”,- the statement says.
We remind that military exercises, propaganda of military service and conscription into the ranks of the armed forces of the Russian Federation are regularly held in the occupied Crimea. The Russian military exercises are destroying the ecosystem of the peninsula and are a flagrant violation of international law.
Earlier, NATO in its statement on Crimea condemned Russia's ongoing large-scale military build-up in Crimea and expressed concern over Russia's efforts and announced plans to further build up military power in the Black Sea region.