MOSCOW. Jan 6 (Interfax-AVN) - Expenses on combat training and technical support of the Interior Ministry Force have grown 1.5 times since January 2001, the force's press service said on Tuesday.
"Implementation of the Interior Ministry Force development plan allowed us to boost servicemen's supply nearly two times as compared to 2001. Over the same period, expenses on combat training and technical support have grown 1.5 times, and expenses on current and prospective supply of armament and military hardware have increased 2.6 times," a press service official told Interfax-Military News Agency.
According to him, the force's manning level has grown 14.5 percent, and the share of available armament and military hardware in the forces has increased from 68 percent to 80-90 percent of the required amount over the past three years.
Earlier it was reported that the 2004 budget assigned RUB2.5bn (USD85.48m) for the Interior Ministry Force development, which is nearly RUB1bn (USD34.19m) higher than in 2003.
The measures taken have increased the general stage of the force's combat readiness, the source went on. The force's units took part in over 3,300 search operations together with police bodies of the Interior Ministry and conducted over 500 successful search and reconnaissance operations in the course of the anti- guerilla campaign in the North Caucasus in 2003 alone, he said.