New S-400 air defense system battalion put on combat duty in Crimea

The second battalion of S-400 Triumf air defense missile systems was put on combat duty in Russia's southwestern the Crimean Peninsula near the city of Sevastopol, Sputnik reported on Saturday.

The relevant order was handed over by the commander of the 4th Air and Air Defense Army, Lt. Gen. Viktor Sevostyanov, to a commander of the air defense regiment.

The S-400 battalion has been deployed and started monitoring the airspace.

According to Sevostyanov, the deployment of forces would contribute to the security of Crimea and the major part of the Krasnodar Territory, after the first battalion of the advanced missile systems was deployed near the city of Feodosia in January 2017.

The S-400 systems put on combat duty in 2018 would primarily protect the airspace over the border with Ukraine, a Crimean security source told Sputnik.