MOSCOW. Sept 17 (Interfax) - Military units and formations of armies number 29, 36, 35, 5 have begun a live-fire exercise on testing grounds in the Transbaikal, Kamchatka and Primorsky Territory, as well as the Sakhalin and Chukotka regions, as part of an inspection of troops in the Eastern Military District (EMD), a spokesperson for the Russian Defense Ministry told Interfax on Wednesday.
"After their redeployment, all troops involved in the surprise inspection and amassed in the designated locations executed the task of deploying control and command stations and set up interaction for joint practical operations as part of inter-service groupings of troops in theaters of operations," the spokesperson said.
The live-fire exercise involves motor-rifle, armored, artillery and air defense units, he said. The drill also involves tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, armored carriers, tube artillery, mortar and grenade launchers and antiaircraft systems.
Artillerymen are executing fire missions that include firing within the line of sight, from a concealed position, against single and group targets.
Firing crews operating air defense missile systems, combined gun and missile systems and man-portable antiaircraft missile systems are honing their skills by executing the task of repelling air raids by single and group targets.
The surprise inspection of the EMD troops on September 11 -18 has been ordered by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
In all, the inspection involves around 100,000 army personnel from five combined-arms formations of the EMD, the command units of the Air Force and Air Defense, the Pacific Fleet, and the Long-Range and Military-Transport Aviation.