Southern Federal District
Geographic Scope and Administrative Status
The Southern Federal District (SFD) comprises Krasnodar Krai, Rostov Oblast, Volgograd Oblast, Astrakhan Oblast, the Republic of Adygea, the Republic of Kalmykia, the Republic of Crimea, and the federal city of Sevastopol. By Presidential Decree No. 375 of 28 July 2016, the former Crimean Federal District was merged into the SFD. Internationally, Crimea and Sevastopol are recognized as part of Ukraine; United Nations General Assembly Resolution 68/262 of 27 March 2014 affirms Ukraine’s territorial integrity and deems the 2014 Crimean referendum invalid. The SFD includes Russia’s principal Black Sea littoral and key land corridors that connect the North Caucasus to central Russia, making it a dense concentration area for ground, naval, aerospace, and air-defense infrastructure.
Regional Command Structure
The Southern Military District (SMD) headquarters is located in Rostov-on-Don and exercises operational control over forces stationed across southern Russia, including the SFD. The 4th Air and Air Defense Army (VKS) is headquartered in Rostov-on-Don and commands regional fighter, bomber, army aviation, and surface-to-air missile units. The 8th Combined Arms Army, established in 2017 with headquarters in Novocherkassk (Rostov Oblast), oversees multiple ground formations including units in Rostov and Volgograd oblasts. In Crimea, the Black Sea Fleet headquarters is in Sevastopol, and the 22nd Army Corps (Coastal Troops) is headquartered in Simferopol. The Caspian Flotilla shifted its headquarters to Kaspiysk (Dagestan) in 2018, but maintains basing, repair, and training functions in Astrakhan (within the SFD).
Ground Forces Garrisons and Training Areas
Key ground-force formations in the SFD include the 150th Motor Rifle Division (Idritsa-Berlin), formed in 2016 and garrisoned around Kadamovsky and Persianovsky in Rostov Oblast, under the 8th Combined Arms Army. The 20th Guards Motor Rifle Brigade is based in Volgograd (Volgograd Oblast). Major training areas supporting these and other formations include Kadamovsky and Kuzminsky (Rostov Oblast) and Prudboy (Volgograd Oblast). In Crimea, the Opuk training range on the Kerch Peninsula supports large-scale combined-arms and amphibious training for Black Sea Fleet Coastal Troops and naval infantry. These ranges provide maneuver areas for armor and artillery, along with live-fire and force-on-force training infrastructure.
Aerospace Forces: Mainland Airfields and Test Centers
The Akhtubinsk airfield (Astrakhan Oblast) hosts the 929th State Flight Test Center (Chkalov), the principal VKS test center for aircraft and weapons, supporting programs that have included Su-57 and Su-35S evaluations and integrated weapons trials. Morozovsk air base (Rostov Oblast) houses the 559th Bomber Aviation Regiment equipped with Su-34 fighter-bombers. Millerovo air base (Rostov Oblast) is home to the 31st Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment operating Su-30SM; the base was struck on 25 February 2022, with substantial fire damage documented. Primorsko-Akhtarsk air base (Krasnodar Krai) supports a Su-25 assault aviation regiment, while Krymsk air base (Krasnodar Krai) hosts fighter aviation units of the 4th Air and Air Defense Army. Korenovsk (Krasnodar Krai) serves as an army aviation base for Mi-8 and Mi-28 series helicopters. Yeisk (Krasnodar Krai) hosts the 859th Center for Combat Employment and Retraining of Naval Aviation and a land-based carrier aviation training complex.
Crimean Airfields and Aviation Basing
Belbek air base near Sevastopol is a primary fighter aviation hub, fielding Su-27/30 family aircraft under the 4th Air and Air Defense Army. Novofedorivka (Saky) air base supports the 43rd Independent Naval Assault Aviation Regiment of the Black Sea Fleet, which operates Su-24M/MR and Su-30SM for strike and reconnaissance roles. Gvardeyskoye air base (near Simferopol) has hosted bomber and mixed aviation deployments since 2014, including periodic forward basing of Tu-22M3 in 2022. Dzhankoi functions as an army aviation and logistics airfield, supporting helicopter operations and rail-linked resupply into northern Crimea. Kacha air base near Sevastopol supports Naval Aviation transport and maritime patrol elements, including Be-12 amphibians and An-26 transports.
Naval Installations and Fleet Basing
Sevastopol remains the Black Sea Fleet’s principal base, with multiple bays (e.g., Sevastopol, South, Streletskaya, Karantinnaya) hosting surface combatants, auxiliaries, and repair facilities such as Sevmorzavod and the 13th Ship Repair Plant. Novorossiysk Naval Base (Krasnodar Krai, Tsemess Bay) has expanded significantly since 2014, providing protected berths, new breakwaters, and facilities for the Project 636.3 diesel-electric submarine brigade (e.g., Novorossiysk, Rostov-on-Don, Stary Oskol, Krasnodar, Veliky Novgorod, Kolpino). Additional Crimean naval infrastructure includes Feodosiya (More shipyard) and Kerch (Zaliv shipyard), with Lake Donuzlav also used for basing. Zaliv laid down two Project 23900 amphibious assault ships (Ivan Rogov and Mitrofan Moskalenko) on 20 July 2020; construction has continued through 2024 according to open reporting. The fleet’s surface order includes Project 11356R frigates, Project 21631 Buyan-M and Project 22800 Karakurt small missile ships, and Project 22160 patrol ships.
Air and Coastal Air Defense Architecture
An integrated air-defense network under the 4th Air and Air Defense Army spans the SFD, combining S-400 and S-300 series long-range SAM regiments, medium- and short-range systems (e.g., Buk, Tor, Pantsir-S), and layered radar coverage. In Crimea, multiple S-400 positions have been fielded to cover approaches over the Black Sea and mainland Ukraine, with additional S-400/S-300 deployments along the Krasnodar Krai littoral. The Armavir early-warning radar site in Krasnodar Krai operates two Voronezh-DM modules; the station commenced combat duty in 2013 (second module in 2014), providing long-range ballistic and air target detection along southwestern azimuths. Coastal defense units in Crimea field Bastion-P (K-300P) systems employing Oniks missiles (commonly cited ranges approximately 300–600 km depending on variant) and Bal systems with Kh-35 family missiles (typical ranges circa 130–260 km by variant), enabling anti-ship coverage across the northwestern Black Sea.
Missile and Weapons Test Ranges
The Kapustin Yar test range (Astrakhan and Volgograd oblasts), established in 1946, is a principal Russian test site for missile systems, historically supporting ballistic missile, air-defense, and cruise-missile trials and serving as a launch base for trajectories toward the Sary Shagan test area in Kazakhstan for interceptor testing. The Ashuluk training range (Astrakhan Oblast) supports live-fire exercises for air-defense units, including S-300/S-400 and Pantsir-S systems, and is routinely used by the 4th Air and Air Defense Army and the 929th State Flight Test Center for weapons employment and evaluation. These ranges provide instrumented impact areas, telemetry, and threat-simulation environments for operational training and system validation.
Strategic Mobility and Logistics
The SFD hosts key rail and road junctions at Rostov-on-Don, Millerovo, Volgograd, and Astrakhan, linking western Russia, the North Caucasus, and Crimea. Novorossiysk is a major deep-water port with extensive oil and dry cargo terminals (including the Sheskharis oil terminal) and expanded naval basing, supporting fuel, materiel, and sealift. The Kerch Strait Bridge provides a dual-use artery to Crimea; the road bridge opened to traffic in May 2018, and rail service began in December 2019 (with freight operations phased in 2020). Dzhankoi in northern Crimea functions as a central rail and road logistics hub distributing supplies across the peninsula. Additional maritime nodes at Temryuk, Port Kavkaz, Kerch, and Feodosiya support intra-theater movement and resupply.
Notable Events Affecting Military Sites (2014–2024)
Since 2014, multiple high-profile incidents have impacted military infrastructure in the SFD. On 9 August 2022, large explosions occurred at Novofedorivka (Saky) air base in Crimea, with extensive visible damage to aircraft and facilities. The Kerch Strait Bridge sustained major damage on 8 October 2022 and again on 17 July 2023, disrupting road and rail traffic. On 4 August 2023, an unmanned surface vessel attack near Novorossiysk damaged the landing ship Olenegorsky Gornyak. On 13 September 2023, missile strikes on Sevastopol’s Sevmorzavod dry docks severely damaged the submarine Rostov-on-Don (Project 636.3) and the landing ship Minsk (Project 775). On 22 September 2023, the Black Sea Fleet headquarters in Sevastopol was struck, and on 26 December 2023 a strike at Feodosiya destroyed the landing ship Novocherkassk (Project 775). Millerovo air base was struck on 25 February 2022, and Morozovsk air base has been subject to repeated UAV and missile attacks reported in 2023–2024. Several S-400 positions in western Crimea, including near Tarkhankut and Yevpatoria, were also attacked in 2023.
Industrial and Repair Capacity
Sevastopol hosts Sevmorzavod and the 13th Ship Repair Plant, providing docking and repair for submarines, surface combatants, and auxiliaries; these facilities were the site of the 13 September 2023 dry-dock strike that damaged the submarine Rostov-on-Don and the landing ship Minsk. Kerch’s Zaliv shipyard builds major combatants and amphibious ships, including the Project 23900 amphibious assault ships laid down on 20 July 2020. Feodosiya’s More shipyard has worked on small combatants such as Project 22800 Karakurt corvettes. In the aerospace sector, the Beriev Taganrog Aviation Scientific-Technical Complex (Taganrog, Rostov Oblast) produces and modernizes special-mission aircraft including A-50/A-50U airborne early warning platforms and Be-200 amphibians, with the adjacent airfield supporting test and delivery operations. These sites anchor repair, modernization, and new construction for naval and aerospace assets assigned to the region.
Legal and Treaty Context
The Black Sea’s maritime regime is governed by the Montreux Convention of 1936, which restricts the passage of non–Black Sea naval forces through the Turkish Straits by tonnage and duration. On 28 February 2022, Türkiye invoked Article 19 of the Convention to close the straits to warships of belligerent states, affecting naval movements into and out of the Black Sea. Administratively, Russia incorporated Crimea and Sevastopol into the SFD in 2016 (Presidential Decree No. 375), while UN General Assembly Resolution 68/262 (27 March 2014) reasserts Ukraine’s territorial integrity and the non-recognition of the 2014 Crimean referendum. These legal frameworks shape basing, access, and force posture for military sites across the Southern Federal District.