Russia: Northern Fleet's Arctic expedition conducts final drill on return voyage

Russia’s Northern Fleet announced on Monday the completion of one of the first troop-deployment operations on the uninhabited coast of the Franz Josef Land archipelago in the Arctic. Footage shows forces involved in the deployment conducting a landing drill in Safonovo on Monday on their way back to the port of Severomorsk, where they arrived later in the day.
The Kondopoga landing ship that took part in the Safonovo drill had disembarked troops and armoured vehicles on the remote Alexandra Land island. The operation was one of the first of its kind as troops were deployed to patrol what is among Russia’s most northerly territories.
Among the items of hardware taken to the Arctic were the BTR APC, Light Multi-Purpose Armoured Towing Vehicle (LMPTV), and tracked snowmobiles as well as KaMAZ and Ural trucks. The Kondopoga also landed marines on the similarly uninhabited coast of the Novaya Zemlya archipelago.
On completion of the mission all troops were embarked and the ship set sail for Severomorsk, taking part in manoeuvres in the Barents Sea en route.