MOSCOW, February 18 (RIA Novosti)
of military installations and the Russian Defense Ministry"s 1,700-strong troop contingent in Abkhazia, Moscow"s military build-up exceeds that of the Soviet era.Military sources say the consolidated military base will comprise the Bombora military airfield, former peacekeeping forces facilities near Gudauta, a troop-training center and a sea harbor section in the vicinity of Ochamchira, as well as joint Russian-Abkhazian garrisons stationed in the north sector of the Kodori Gorge and near the Inguri hydroelectric power plant.
"Considering the fact that Russia"s Black Sea Fleet is primarily stationed in Sevastopol, Ukraine, and that the Novorossiisk naval base is still under construction, this is an important geopolitical victory," said former Black Sea Fleet Commander Admiral Vladimir Komoyedov, currently a deputy in the State Duma, the lower house of the Russian parliament.
According to Komoyedov, the Black Sea Fleet will now be less centralized and
Pages: 1 2 3 [4] 5 6 7 8 9 10 11