Ukrainian air assault troops carry out exercises in Zhytomyr
On Wednesday, November 21, the 95th Assault Brigade held brigade tactical exercises in the Zhytomyr region, marking the first anniversary of the creation of the Air Assault Troops, formerly known as Highly Mobile Landing Troops.
LB.ua reported that the practical part of the drills began with a hypothetical air strike. Then, servicemen with military equipment parachuted out of an Il-26 and An-26 transport planes. On the ground, the paratroopers practiced how to fight when ambushed, walk through a minefield and seize an objective while destroying a hypothetical target. Fire support during the combat exercises was provided by the artillery of the 95th-brigade.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, current Chief of the General Staff and commanding officer of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Viktor Muzhenko, People’s Deputy Rychkova Tetiana and commander of the Ukrainian Airmobile Forces Mykhailo Zabrodskyi observed the exercises.
The Air Assault Brigade was formed to operate in the rear of an enemy during special anti-terrorist and peacekeeping operations and to carry out tasks that are impossible to solve effectively with other means or forces. The Air Assault forces are based in Zhytomyr, Mykolaiv, Lviv, Chernivtsi, Dnepropetrovsk, Donetsk, Poltava and Vinnytsia.