Russian Black Sea fleet starts combat readiness checks

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) - Several vessels of Russia's Black Sea Fleet conducted control combat readiness checks on Wednesday, the country's Defense Ministry announced.

The ships are to test fire artillery at surface and air targets in both sole and joint exercises, the ministry said in a statement.

Naval aircraft, including helicopters, will also be involved in test firing, it added.

On April 4, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu pressed the button on routine military combat readiness control checks.

According to the Shoygu, 4,048 military exercises of various scales, including 812 bilateral tests with other countries, will be conducted this month at 101 training locations, with the principal training taking place in the country’s Far East region.