Russian Head of the Military Department chairs Defence Ministry Board Session

Today Moscow hosted another Defence Ministry Board Session chaired by the General of the Army Sergei Shoigu at the National Centre for State Defence Control.

Before discussing issues on the thematic agenda of the meeting, General of the  Army Sergei Shoigu reported on measures taken in the Armed Forces to prevent the importation and spread of coronavirus disease.

“According to official figures, more than 246,000 people are infected on the planet, 10,166 died. No cases of the disease have been registered in the Russian Armed Forces”, the head of the military department stated.

Sergei Shoigu said that on March 12, an operational HQ was created to prevent the import and spread of coronavirus disease in the Armed Forces under the leadership of First Deputy Minister of Defence, Ruslan Tsalikov. Regular inspections of educational institutions, military units and organizations of the Ministry of Defence are carried out. A stock of medical devices, individual protection equipment and medicines has been created.

In addition, trips of Russian military delegations abroad and the reception of foreign representatives have been stopped. Suspended sporting, cultural, leisure and other events outside the locations of military units. Daily thermometry is conducted for people arriving at military units, and military personnel are restricted from leaving the garrisons.

Sergei Shoigu also said that 32 hospitals have prepared special departments for the treatment of infected people.

In addition, Sergei Shoigu recalled that on March 18-19, a special training of NBC protection troops was held in cooperation with the Main Military Medical Directorate of the Russian Ministry of Defence and the Aerospace Forces. Security was provided by military police units.

At the Chkalovsky airfield, actions were taken to receive and evacuate citizens, special handling of aircraft and transported goods, issues of organizing quarantine and disinfection of military unit facilities to normalize the epidemic situation were practiced.

Sergei Shoigu added that the entire leadership of the Ministry of Defence and the General Staff passed tests for coronavirus yesterday. All tests showed a negative result.

The Board discussed the implementation of the plans for the Southern and Eastern Military Districts in terms of implementing the May decrees of the President of Russia, his instructions following the meetings in Sochi and his Message to the Federal Assembly.

Sergei Shoigu noted that the military-political situation in the Western strategic direction remains tense. In an effort to block Russia's participation in solving global and regional problems, a number of countries use any pretexts to build up a military presence near our borders,” said the Minister of Defence.

So, in 2019, 25 NATO warships alternately served in the Black Sea. Every third of them had cruise missiles on board.

The intensity of aerial reconnaissance increased by 20%. Since the beginning of this year, NATO aviation has completed more than 80 reconnaissance flights along the territory of Russia.

Since last fall, the Black Sea zone has been patrolled daily by strategic electronic reconnaissance aircraft and base patrol aircraft, as well as unmanned aerial vehicles.

The development of an advanced alliance-based system continues. The scale of the exercises is constantly growing, Ukraine, Georgia, Finland and Norway, which are not part of the bloc, are actively attracted to them.

“We are monitoring the situation at our borders, systematically increasing the combat capabilities of the military districts and the Northern Fleet, and improving their military composition and basing system,” the Minister of Defence emphasized.

Sergei Shoigu also said that more than 1,200 pieces of new and modernized equipment were delivered to formations and military units of the Southern Military District last year, and this year almost three times as much will be delivered.

In 2019, more than 550 command post and tactical exercises took place in the Southern Military District, more than a third of them with the participation of the territorial defence headquarters of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation and enterprises of the defence industry complex.

105 bilateral exercises are planned for this year. Also on the territory of the military district will be held Kavkaz 2020 large-scale exercise, preparations for which are already underway.

“As for the Eastern strategic direction. Against the backdrop of the US’s desire to dominate the Asia-Pacific region, the military-political situation is degrading here,” the head of the military department said.

Sergei Shoigu added that the largest maneuvers of the US armed forces and their allies will take place in the Sakhalin and Primorsky operational areas. In the Eastern Military District, measures are being taken to adequately respond to growing threats.

In 2019, the district received more than 1,300 pieces of weapons and military equipment, more than 1,350 pieces will arrive before the end of this year, including 502 new samples.

More than 1,000 exercises were conducted, half of them at night. For the first time in the district on the territory of the Jewish Autonomous and Amur Regions, a comprehensive mobilization exercise was organized, in which more than 9,500 people were involved.

About 2,000 different combat training events are planned for this year, including nine international ones.

At the end of the meeting of the Board of the Russian Ministry of Defence, the Head of the Military Department suggested discussing the issue of increasing the capabilities and perspective indicators of electronic cartography centres.

Source - MoD

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