05.09.2012
Russian defense ministry disbanded Black Sea Fleet (BSF) Air Defense Regiment which covered the fleet's main base Sevastopol from air threats, reported Interfax on Sept 4 referring to Black Sea Fleet HQ.
According to an interviewee, parts of the disbanded regiment headed by Col. Andrei Litvinov would be reformed into 2 battalions and attached to BSF Marine Brigade. Some servicemen will be either dismissed or left out of the brigade's staff.
The regiment has been in service for 66 years and in 2010 won the Navy Commander's Prize for excellent antiaircraft firing, said the BSF representative.
Formally, BSF naval base in Sevastopol belongs to Ukraine. In Apr 2010, presidents of the two countries Dmitry Medvedev and Viktor Yanukovich agreed to prolong lease period of the Russian base in Sevastopol up to 2042. In exchange, Ukraine received discount on Russian natural gas.
