According to the press release regarding the short-notice training exercises, published by the Russian Ministry of Defence, the operations which are being currently executed involve – in total – 80 000 soldiers of the Russian Army, supported by 220 aircraft. On 19th March the Russians have decided that the training activities in question shall additionally pertain to additional units of Western and Central, military districts.

According to the earlier reports, so called test of combat readiness was to involve 40 thousand soldiers, 41 ships, including 15 submarines and 110 fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft. According to the information available, the operations realized within the scope of the exercise would involve deployment of the Iskander missiles, along with the Su-27 Flanker fighters and Su-34 Fullback fighter-bombers in the Kaliningrad region. Additionally, Tu-22M3 Backfire-C bombers are to be deployed to the bases located within the territory of Crimea.

The press release, published by the Russian Ministry of Defence, states that the operations are premeditated and planned. Chief of the General Staff, General Valeriy Gierasimov stressed the fact that the elements involved in the exercise are going to be evaluated, while the armed forces will try to eliminate the identified deficiencies. Conclusions drawn from the “combat readiness test” are to be taken into account during the future, routine operational activities of the Russian Army.