Russian Information Agency Novosti
March 14, 2014
Russia Sends 4 Strategic Bombers on 24-Hour Arctic Patrol
KOTELNY ISLAND: Russia has dispatched four Tu-95MS strategic bombers on a 24-hour patrol over the Arctic Ocean, Air Force commander Lt. Gen. Viktor Bondarev said Friday.
Bondarev said the four aircraft left their home base at the Ukrainka airbase in Russia’s Far East late on Thursday to carry out a 12-hour non-stop combat patrol mission over the Arctic.
“After an in-flight refueling, they will continue the patrol for another 12-14 hours,” the general said.
The Russian authorities have recently been calling for tighter security along the country’s Arctic frontiers and along its maritime transportation routes in the polar region.
Arctic territories are believed to hold vast untapped reserves of oil and gas. They have increasingly been at the center of disputes between the United States, Russia, Canada, Norway and Denmark as rising temperatures lead to a reduction in sea ice and make energy reserves more accessible.
Russia has made claims to several Arctic shelf areas and plans to defend its bid at the United Nations.
Russia also announced in February that it will form a new strategic military command by the end of 2014 to protect its interests in the Arctic.
=================================
Interfax
March 14, 2014
Four Russian strategic bombers in air patrol over Arctic Ocean
KOTELNY ISLAND, the Arctic region: Four Russian Tupolev Tu-95MS strategic bombers, which embarked on a patrolling mission over the Arctic Ocean on Thursday, will fulfill this task for 24 hours and will be refueled in mid-air, Russian Air Force Commander Viktor Bondarev told reporters during drills of the 98th Ivanovo Airborne Troops division.
“In addition to the exercises of our brave paratroopers, we have arranged an air patrol mission by Tu-95MS strategic aviation planes over districts of the Arctic Ocean. The four airplanes have already been flying over these northern districts for 12 hours. They will be refueled in mid-air and will continue their patrolling flight for another 12 or 14 hours,” he said.
“The planes involved in this combat task took off from the Ukrainka airfield in the Amur region at 10:30 p.m. on Thursday. They will return to the same airfield after they complete their mission,” Bondarev said.
=================================
Russian Information Agency Novosti
March 14, 2014
Russia Paradrops Airborne Battalion in Arctic
KOTELNY ISLAND: The Russian Airborne Troops on Thursday paradropped a 350-strong battalion at a landing site on the New Siberian Islands in the Arctic as part of ongoing military drills.
It took the battalion from the 98th Guards Airborne Division, based near Moscow, about an hour to “capture” an airfield and prepare it for the landing of transport planes loaded with troops, heavy military equipment and supplies, a spokesman for the Airborne Troops said.
Commenting on the success of the mission, Airborne Troops commander Col. Gen. Vladimir Shamanov said it was a feat of valor and prowess only Russian paratroopers are capable of, as the drills were carried out in extremely adverse weather conditions.
“You can be proud of our paratroopers, who accomplish their tasks in any conditions,” Shamanov told reporters.
The 98th division started large-scale exercises involving 4,000 troops, 36 military transport aircraft and an unspecified number of combat vehicles on March 11.
Apart from the Arctic, the paratroopers have been deployed in the Rostov, Tambov, Belgorod and Kursk regions – all bordering on Ukraine – “to practice combat techniques and maneuvering,” according to the defense ministry.
The drills come in the wake of a number of military exercises in Russia’s western regions in recent weeks, including air defense and artillery drills, combat readiness snap checks and the launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile.
Moscow says the exercises are not linked to the political standoff between Russia and the West over Crimea, an autonomous Ukrainian region with a narrow ethnic Russian majority.
Crimean authorities have refused to recognize the legitimacy of the new central government in Kiev, which was installed after the ouster of President Viktor Yanukovych in late February.
Local officials announced last week that they intended for the peninsula to become part of Russia.
A referendum on the issue has been set for March 16. Authorities in Kiev and international leaders have condemned the referendum as illegitimate and threatened Moscow with sanctions over its apparent intention to annex the region.
Source