Russia to create Western military district by December

Russia will complete the formation of its western military district by December 1, local media reported Wednesday.

The command will include a field army and two infantry brigades based in Leningrad region.

Till the end of 2010, there will be four military districts and strategic unified commands instead of the current six.

The western military district is being created from the present Moscow and Leningrad districts and the Northern and Baltic fleets.

By December 1, the new structure of command should be completed, Chief of Staff of Russian Armed Forces Nikolai Makarov said.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev ordered the reorganization in July to create four joint strategic commands, namely the West, South, Center and East, as well as a unified technical support system.

Source:Xinhua