Mobile towns constructed to house Russian soldiers in Nagorno-Karabakh will be put into operation no later than 5 April, with a mobile hospital to follow. The announcement was made by Russian Deputy Defence Minister Dmitry Bulgakov at the opening ceremony (pictured) for a modular-block town with space for 250 soldiers in Stepanakert, in the self-declared Nagorno-Karabakh Republic.
Work will start on the mobile hospital – ordered by Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu – between 5-7 April and is expected to be finished by the end of the month. Bulgakov noted that the Russian military are very familiar with these block-modular structures, often used in remote and hard-to-reach Russian territories, which explains the speed at which they are being constructed.
Each module is equipped with beds, wardrobes, tables and chairs, showers, and household appliances (washing machines, televisions, air conditioners and boilers). On the territory of each camp, there is a gym, a bathhouse, a medical centre, a dryer, a laundry room, a leisure room, an office, a storage room, a canteen, and a grocery store.
As part of the trilateral ceasefire agreement signed by Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia on 9 November, Russia has deployed 1,960 soldiers to Nagorno-Karabakh and the Lachin corridor, which connects Armenia to Karabakh.