3 Russian IL-76 cargo planes were spotted in the Dzhankoi airbase in the Russian Republic of Crimea. According to Fox News, which released these images, they were taken on December 8 by Israel’s ImageSat International.
The media outlet, citing social media reports, claimed that 4 IL-76 planes departed on December 6 from Anapa airport in Novorossiysk and landed in Dzhankoi. One of the planes returned on the same day to Anapa, while the 3 remain on base.
The Fox News version of the development (source):
“Ilushin-76 cargo planes are used by the Russian Army to deliver outsized or heavy cargo unable to be carried on the ground. The cargo planes are also used for mobilizing large numbers of troops.
The base of the elite unit of the Russia Airborne troops, the 7th Guards Mountain Air Assault Division is located in Novorossiysk, not far from Anapa.
The division’s troop participated in the last round of violence between Ukraine and Russia in August 2014, in addition to the fighting in Syria.
The IL-76 were spotted in the same airbase where the fourth S-400 surface-to-air missile battery was deployed, Fox News has previously reported.
The mobile S-400 missile has a range of up to almost 250 miles and can climb to an altitude of almost 19 miles. It’s intended to bring down a variety of aerial threats, from aircraft to cruise and ballistic missiles.
The apparent troop buildup comes as Ukraine’s defense ministry warned Friday that it will soon send naval ships through the Kerch Strait.”
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