On the territory of the occupied Crimea, the Russian aggressor launched large-scale exercises of airborne troops with the involvement of deployed units of the aerospace and Black Sea Fleet. This was reported by the commander of the Airborne Forces, Colonel-General Andrei Serdyukov, who supervises the exercises.

He explained that in the maneuvers the 7th Airborne Assault Division (Novorossiysk), as well as the 56th (Kamyshin) and the 11th (Ulan-Ude) assault brigades. They are supported by the forces of the Black Sea Fleet and the 4th Army Air Force and Air Defense of the Southern Military District.

"For the first time in the history of the Russian army, within the framework of the Airborne Forces exercises, three of our units were simultaneously raised in alarm and partly transferred to the Crimea with standard weapons and equipment," Serdyukov said..

The aim of the maneuvers, according to him, is to work out "as part of the rapid reaction grouping against illegal armed formations and regular troops of the conventional enemy". In particular, there are exercises on anti-landing defenses of the coast.

In the episode of the exercises, played on the Crimean test range, Opuk, more than 2,500 people and 600 units of weapons and military equipment.