The forces of the Southern Military District and the Airborne Forces, which were involved in a recent military exercise at the Opuk training ground near Kerch, have begun to return to their permanent deployment points.

This was reported by the press service of the Russian Defense Ministry.

"The redeployment is carried out in a combined way by air and rail transport, as well as with the march of wheeled vehicles on their own along federal highways," the department noted.

In particular, the units of the 7th Guards Airborne Assault (Mountain) Division located in Novorossiysk and the formations of radiation, chemical and biological protection (RHBZ) are being withdrawn from the Crimea.

In turn, the Marine Corps units return to the base in Sevastopol.

"Unconditional domination"

Recall that on April 22, at the Opuk training ground, as part of a sudden check of combat readiness, the main stage of the interspecific exercise of the units of the Southern Military District and the Airborne Forces of the Russian Federation took place.

In addition to the Novorossiysk airborne forces, two more winged infantry divisions were involved in the maneuvers - the 76th airborne assault (Pskov region) and the 98th airborne (Ivanovo).

Also in the exercises were involved in the formations of the Aerospace Forces and Air Defense, ships and coastal forces of the Black Sea Fleet, part of the ships of the Caspian Flotilla.

“More than 10 thousand servicemen took part in the active phase of the interspecific exercise in Crimea, 1.2 thousand units of weapons and military equipment were involved, of which more than 40 ships and boats, 20 support vessels, up to 200 aircraft, including 40 aircraft of military transport aviation ", - clarify in the Department of Information and Mass Communications of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation.

During the maneuvers under the cover of ships, aircraft and air defense systems, the landing on the coast of the marines was practiced, as well as the parachuting of the "blue berets" from heavy military transport aircraft Il-76MD.

For example, the 98th Guards Airborne Division alone transferred more than 2 thousand servicemen to Opuk.

According to the legend of the exercises, the Ivanovo paratroopers were tasked with destroying the advanced command post of the joint army corps of the mock enemy, preventing the approach of enemy reserves and ensuring the safe landing of the marines.

According to the materials of the Ministry of Defense, reconnaissance units were secretly withdrawn to the area of ​​hostilities in three days to successfully complete this task.

They were supposed to establish the composition of the conditional enemy and the nature of his possible actions, as well as the location of reserves, guidance and adjustment of strikes with precision weapons and aircraft.

In the flight zone of the military transport aviation, the Aerospace Forces units worked out the destruction of enemy air defense systems and won "unconditional air supremacy."

The landing took place in a fairly intensive mode - the time interval between the leading detachments of the Il-76MD was 1 min 30 s, and the distance between the aircraft during the landing was 200 m.

After gathering at the landing site, the "blue berets" alerted military equipment and with a "swift attack" defeated the conditional enemy, capturing the "assigned targets".

  • Landing from a military transport aircraft

  • Facebook

  • © mod.mil.rus

A significant role in the successful actions of the Airborne Forces units was played by the modernization of equipment and the use of an automated control system (ACS), which made it possible to work out tasks "in a single information field" and reduce the time for their implementation.

The offensive of the paratroopers was supported by a self-propelled artillery battery, which included improved reconnaissance and fire control points 1В119-1 "Rheostat-1" and 120-mm self-propelled airborne guns 2С9-1М "Nona".

The results of fire damage were tracked in real time.

Upon completion of the active phase of the events, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, who arrived in Crimea, highly appreciated the results demonstrated by the 10,000-strong group.

“I believe that the objectives of the surprise check have been fully achieved.

The troops have demonstrated their ability to ensure a reliable defense of the country, ”Shoigu stressed.

In this regard, the head of the military department ordered to begin the return of the forces involved in the exercises in the Crimea to the points of permanent deployment.

Until May 1, the peninsula must leave the units of the 58th and 41st armies, the 7th, 76th and 98th airborne divisions of the Airborne Forces.

According to Shoigu, the maneuvers in the Crimea proved the ability of the Russian army to adequately respond "to all changes near the borders of Russia."

He also recalled that the North Atlantic Alliance has significantly increased its military activity near the southern borders of the country.

According to the military department, one of the main NATO groups is being deployed in the Black Sea region as part of the Defender Europe 2021 exercise, which is the largest over the past 30 years, starting in May with the involvement of 40 thousand people and 15 thousand weapons.

Russian intelligence is tracking all movements of the alliance's troops.

For example, it is known that in Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria there are coordination centers that ensure the "meeting of NATO troops and cargo."

"We must react"

According to experts interviewed by RT, the exercises at the Opuk training ground were held at a very high level in terms of operational art.

The Russian army has demonstrated the ability to quickly concentrate a significant grouping of forces in response to a potential external threat.

“The transfer of troops to Crimea, in my opinion, has become evidence that an infrastructure is being successfully created there that can accommodate significant amounts of forces.

This allows the Russian Federation to adequately respond, first of all, to possible aggression from NATO in the southwest direction, "Alexei Podberezkin, director of the Center for Military-Political Research of MGIMO, explained in a commentary to RT.

In his opinion, the maneuvers of the Russian army are defensive in nature and are a response to the increase in the presence of NATO troops near the Russian borders.

Podberezkin also recalled that in recent months the intensity of aviation flights and the number of ground formations concentrated on the "eastern flank" of the alliance have increased.

“Of course we have to react to this.

It is no coincidence that the marines were involved in the exercises, which landed from large landing ships, and the airborne divisions are several thousand well-trained military personnel.

These are the most combat-ready and mobile formations capable of changing the situation in a potential theater of operations in favor of Russia, ”says Podberezkin.

  • Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu at the command post at the Opuk training ground

  • Facebook

  • © mod.mil.rus

In addition, analysts believe that the exercises at the Opuk training ground and, in general, a sudden check of the combat readiness of the troops following the results of the winter training period had a "sobering effect" on Moscow's geopolitical opponents.

For example, on April 22, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for the "Temporarily Occupied Territories" of Ukraine Oleksiy Reznikov said during a press briefing that Kiev was not going to enter into an armed conflict with Russia and intends to "engage in peaceful life."

“I’ll tell you this - I am a very positive-minded person.

There will be no war, and there shouldn't be.

We do not have a time for war now, we now, excuse me, have vegetable gardens on schedule.

And you need to engage in a peaceful life for everyone who lives in Ukraine.

And I hope the Russians are in the same mood, ”Reznikov said.

At the same time, Alexei Podberezkin is sure that Kiev and the West have “caught the message” of Moscow about the “unacceptability of any form of force pressure” regarding the ownership of Crimea and issues related to ensuring the national security of the Russian Federation.

A similar point of view is shared by the head of the Bureau of Military-Political Analysis, Alexander Mikhailov.

In a commentary to RT, he said that thanks in large part to the exercises in Crimea, Moscow was able to significantly reduce the degree of tension in the Donbass, where the situation was seriously aggravated in March.

“Before that, we observed a rather unexpected and large-scale concentration of units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and heavy equipment in Donbass, which, most likely, was supported by foreign partners of the Kiev authorities.

In this context, a sudden check of the combat readiness of troops in the west of the Russian Federation and maneuvers in the Crimea kept the Armed Forces of Ukraine from further escalation, "Mikhailov said.

According to him, the demonstration of Russia's military capabilities influenced the position of the United States, which was expressed in the reversal of the American destroyers heading for the Black Sea and diplomatic steps to “calm down” the Ukrainian leadership.

According to Mikhailov, in such a situation, Vladimir Zelensky was forced to declare that Kiev was not going to initiate hostilities.

He also turned to Russian President Vladimir Putin with a request for a meeting.

“As a result, Ukraine curtailed discussions about the implementation of the power scenario in the Donbass.

In turn, after the exercises in Crimea, Russia publicly announced the timing of the withdrawal of troops.

Thus, Moscow made it clear that in the event of a threat it is always ready to quickly deploy the army and return the troops to the deployment points if it sees positive changes in the plans of the unfriendly forces, "Mikhailov summed up.