Russia to conduct exercises of the Strategic Missile Forces
The Russian Defense Ministry announced its intention to test Strategic Missile Forces during the three-day Grom-2019 military exercise.
The exercises will involve the launch of ballistic and cruise missiles from land, sea, and air, and they will be held from 15 to 17 October. Twelve thousand troops, as well as ships, submarines, and fighter jets will participate in military drills.
According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the purpose of the exercise is to check the readiness of the Russian management structure, and how effectively orders are carried out.
Major General Yevgeny Ilyin, acting head of the Russian Defense Ministry's main department for international military cooperation, said the upcoming drills are "solely defensive."
He also said that the exercises will include 16 test launches of cruise and ballistic missiles, including Yars and Sineva Intercontinental ballistic missiles.
According to Ilyin, the exercises will be held in the waters of the Barents, Baltic, Black, Caspian, and Okhotsk seas.
Since the annexation of Crimea in 2014, Russia has regularly conducted military exercises on the Peninsula and in the Black Sea. The Ukrainian General Staff called the actions of the Russian military in Crimea illegal.