Russia starts military training before Georgia and NATO exercises
By Natalia Kochiashvili
Thursday, July 25
Russia has launched Staff Training of 49th and 58th Armies Command, headed by Colonel General Aleksandr Dvornikov, head of the Southern Military District. According to the press service of the district, the anti-aircraft defense systems and the 4th Army Aviation subdivision are involved.
The part of Russia’s 49th and 58th Armies units are stationed on Russian military bases located in the occupied Abkhazia and Tskhinvali regions.
According to the training scenario, shared by the press service of the Southern Military District, the 58th Army reunited with the Russian bases in South Ossetia and Abkhazia will oppose the forces under the 49th Army command. Additionally, following the unified tactical intentions, training-combat tasks will also be carried out in Armenia, by sub-units which are deployed in 102 Russian military bases.
The press service of the Russian Southern Military District does not name the number of military and equipment participating in the exercises. It is said to be provided with the latest models of Russian weapons and equipment as a matter of priority.
The commander of the district, General Dvornikov said that this stage of intensive summertime combat training would grow into the bilateral Command-Stage Training phase that will involve all units of the Southern Military District, including the Black Sea and Caspian Sea Fleets. The concluding training will be held in September at the polygons of Rostov and Volgograd districts, in the Kuban and Annexed Crimea.
The Southern District is considered Russia’s main outpost. It is supposed to ensure the security of the Black Sea region, counter-terrorist groups in the North Caucasus, and support the Russian Air Force’s campaign in Syria.
The Russian exercise comes ahead of the Agile Spirit NATO exercises in Georgia. In a matter of two days, the multilateral training Agile Spirit 2019 will begin in Georgia on July 27, involving more than 3,000 troops form NATO and 14 partner countries. Training will be launched for 9th time in Georgia, it will be held in Senaki at the base of infantry crew II, at the polygons of Orpholo and VazianI and will last for two weeks. Apart from Georgia Participating countries are the United States, Belgium, Bulgaria, Great Britain, Greece, Latvia, Lithuania, Montenegro, Norway, Poland, Romania, Turkey, and Ukraine.
According to the Ministry of Defense of Georgia, the goal of this year’s training is to increase the interoperability between the participating countries, enhance operational capacities during the planning and execution of operations in multinational environments; develop control capabilities between the alliance and partner countries; Also, contribute to maintaining a stable and secure environment in the Black Sea region. Accordingly, the central message of the instruction is “Power is in Partnership.”
The training will be conducted under the guidance of the Georgian Defense Forces and US European Commanders and includes both Command and Staff and Field Training.
