Moscow secures Crimea poll with air-defense missile drill. US steps up military activity around Russia

Amid spiraling tensions between Moscow and the West over the fate of Crimea, Russia has mobilized its air and coastal defenses and more than 1,000 missile and tank units for a month-long drill in Kapustin Yar, around 450 km from the Ukraine border in the Astrakhan district. DEBKAfile’s military sources report that this facility is home to one of Russia’s biggest missile bases.

Read More: Moscow secures Crimea poll with air-defense missile drill. US steps up military activity around Russia.