The Ukrainian Air Force said on Friday it was going to hold drills at the Yagorlyk range in the Kherson region, which borders the Crimean Peninsula, later this month
KIEV (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 08th February, 2019) The Ukrainian Air Force said on Friday it was going to hold drills at the Yagorlyk range in the Kherson region, which borders the Crimean Peninsula, later this month."The first drills during which air defense systems will be fired will take place this month at the Yagorlyk range," the air force said on its Facebook page.
It further specified that it had scheduled four drills for this year, during which it will fire Buk M1 (NATO reporting name SA-17 Grizzly), S-125 (NATO reporting name SA-3 Goa), S-300 (NATO reporting name SA-10 Grumble) systems.
"More than 150 various combat training events, including command tactical drills and training of alert forces, will be held," the Air Force added.
In November, Ukraine conducted missile drills near Crimea, triggering criticism from the regional parliament, which regarded the maneuver as a threat.
Crimea rejoined Russia in 2014, when 97 percent of those participating in a regional referendum voted for the reunification. Despite this, the vote was not recognized by the international community, including Ukraine and the Western states, which subsequently imposed economic and political sanctions on Moscow.
The Russian authorities have repeatedly stated that the Crimean residents decided to rejoin Russia in accordance with democratic procedures. Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that the issue of Crimea's territorial belonging is "historically closed."
