MOSCOW, March 14 (AVN) - A separate paratrooper battalion of the 31st separate airborne brigade permanently stationed in Ulyanovsk, Volga region, will be the first airborne unit to be withdrawn from Chechnya, a spokesman for the Airborne Staff said on Wednesday.
The battalion's withdrawal is envisaged by a directive of Chief-of-Staff Anatoly Kvashnin that approved the schedule of the unified federal group reduction, the spokesman told the Military News Agency.
The unit is the backbone of a task force under command of Lieutenant-Colonel Oleg Karagaitsev that has been stationed in the southern Chechen Khatuni village for half a year. The task force and a detachment of the 45th separate reconnaissance regiment form the permanent reserve of the federal troops deputy commander in charge of the airborne. Their main mission has been to carry out search and reconnaissance operations in their responsibility zone in southern Chechnya.
The battalion's withdrawal is scheduled for April 10 and 11. The unit will be transported by railway.