By Zhang Zhihua and Tian Dingyu
MOSCOW, Aug. 11 -- Over 190 service members of the PLA Ground Force participating in the International Army Games (IAG) 2020 arrived in Moscow on August 10, marking that all 260 Chinese participants of the IAG have arrived in Russia. And then, all pieces of equipment involved will also be transferred to game venues accordingly.
At 12 pm local time on August 10, more than 190 soldiers of the PLA Army took two military transport aircraft and flew to Moscow from Urumqi Diwopu International Airport. Before this, some of their participating equipment had been delivered to Russia from the Manzhouli port by rail. They will participate in five subjects in the IAG 2020, includingthe "Tank Biathlon" and the "Open Water" events. Moreover, the paratroopers from the PLA Air Force’ airborne troops participating in the "Airborne Platoon" event have also arrived in Moscow by military transport aircraft.
According to information, in response to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the IAG task arrangements, this year’s transportation and delivery methods of the PLA's participating troops and equipment have been adjusted accordingly.
The participating troops, project teams, command teams, interpreters, reporters, and other personnel were all transported to Russia point-to-point by military transport aircraft accurately, so as to reduce contact with outside personnel in transit and reduce the risk of infection.
It is learnt that all the PLA participant teams will conduct isolation observation and nucleic acid testing at designated locations following the unified requirements of Russian side. The Russian side will be responsible for transferring all PLA teams to various competition venues, hand over weapons and equipment, and arrange adaptability training. The competition is scheduled to kick off on August 23.