Russia conducts tank drills in annexed Crimea
Russian troops are conducting exercises involving tank units in annexed Crimea.
Exercises of the coastal defense units and marine corps of the Russian Black Sea Fleet are held at the Opuk, Angar and Kozachiy training ranges, the Russian Defense Ministry said.
The exercises involve firing drills from T-72B3 tanks and BTR-82A armored personnel carriers . According to the Russian Defense Ministry, 40 armored vehicles were brought to the firing ranges.
It is reported that Russian tankers have already carried out night drills in the annexed peninsular.
The Marines carried out the firing drills from AK-74 assault rifles and hand-held anti-tank grenade launchers RPG-7B.
It was reported earlier that Russia plans to call more than 3,000 Crimean residents for service in the Russian army this spring. The Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed strong protest against such actions by Russia.
“Russia's conscription of the residents of annexed Crimea flagrantly violates international humanitarian law, which prohibits Russia, as an aggressor state, from forcing the residents to serve in its armed or auxiliary forces,” said the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also noted that “in the conditions of the coronavirus pandemic, which is also spreading rapidly, the announcement of the so-called "spring conscription" looks particularly flagrant,” the Ministry added.
In February 2014, armed people in uniforms without insignias appeared in Crimea and captured the Supreme Council of Crimea, the Simferopol Airport, the Kerch ferry crossing and other strategic objects, and prevented the Ukrainian army from taking action. Initially, the Russian government refused to acknowledge that these armed people were Russian soldiers, but President Vladimir Putin later admitted it.
On 16 March 2014, a referendum on the status of Crimea was held in Crimea and Sevastopol, in which the inhabitants supposedly voted for the peninsula to become part of Russia. The outcome of the so-called referendum is not recognized by Ukraine, the EU or the US. On 18 March, Putin announced the “annexation” of Crimea to Russia.
International organizations have declared the annexation illegal and condemned Russia’s actions. Western countries have imposed economic sanctions on Russia in connection with the annexation. Russia claims to have “restored historical justice”. Ukraine’s parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, declared 20 February 2014 the start of Russia’s temporary occupation of Crimea and Sevastopol.