Russia conducts exercises with Bastion and Bal coastal missiles systems in annexed Crimea
On February 15th, Bastion and Bal missile combat crews of the Russian Black Sea Fleet held exercises on destroying sea targets in the annexed Crimea, as reported by the press service of the Russian military department.
"At the Crimean test sites, the personnel of the Bastion and Bal anti-ship coastal missile systems are conducting planned exercises to develop practical skills in carrying out missile strikes," the press service of the Black Sea Fleet of Russia said.
It was specified that the exercises will last until the end of February. The Bastion coastal missile system provides defense for a coastline with a length of more than 600 km. The Bal coastal missile system is capable of hitting targets at a distance of up to 120 km at any time of the day and under the most unfavorable weather conditions, launchers can be deployed at hidden positions at a distance of up to 10 km from the coast, the agency reports.
In 2018, in the area of Cape Fiolent in Sevastopol, the S-400 Triumph air defense missile systems were put on combat duty.
After the annexation of the Crimea in 2014, Russia has conducted regular military exercises on the peninsula. The General Staff of Ukraine calls the actions of Russian military in the Crimea illegal.
The internationally recognized Ukrainian territory of Crimea was annexed by the Russian Federation in March of 2014 in the wake of the Ukrainian revolution. The Kremlin has faced international condemnation for its annexation of the Peninsula, leading many Western countries to impose economic sanctions against Russia. In the United Nations, only Afghanistan, Belarus, North Korea, Cuba, Nicaragua, Venezuela, and Syria recognize Crimea as a legitimate federal subject of Russia.