
With jets zooming across the sky and dropping bombs that burst into balls of flame - this was a fireworks display with a deadly serious purpose.

The display of military might took place in Crimea on Friday as Russia showcased its ground, marine and air forces in the biggest exercises held on the strategic peninsula since its 2014 annexation from Ukraine.

The drills involved 12,500 troops, fighter jets and anti-aircraft missiles, and happened at the Opuk training range on the Black Sea coast.

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This display of military might took place on Friday in Crimea as Russia showcased its ground, marine and air forces. Pictured is an explosion from a thermobaric bomb, which create a pressure wave that can suck the air out of people's lungs

The drills involved 12,500 troops, alongside fighter jets and anti-aircraft missiles, and took place at the Opuk training range on the Black Sea coast. Pictured is another view of the thermobaric bomb blast

The halo-shaped wave from the thermobaric explosion can be seen above the clouds of spray kicked up from the surface of the Black Sea

The drills involved warships, aircraft and tanks, with Moscow firing its S-300 missile systems. Here, a small ship cowers from a huge blast as a helicopter flies overhead

Thermobaric bombs explode as other ordinance drifts down towards their targets on parachutes. Thermobaric missile launches are said to have been deployed by Russia in Syria

The more advanced S-400 systems were used earlier in the Caucasus-2016 exercises that began on September 5. In this still image, a ship fires a missile at a mock target

A large landing ship moves across the still waters of the Black Sea, depositing a smoke screen in its wake to hide it from 'enemy' forces

The drills involved warships, aircraft and tanks, with Moscow firing its S-300 missile systems.

The more advanced S-400 systems were used earlier in the Caucasus-2016 exercises that began on September 5.

Inland, on a dusty steppe, paratroopers made a mass landing while ground forces ignited a wall of fire with napalm.

'On such a scale and with the deployment of different force groupings, such drills are being held for the first time,' defence ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov told journalists.

Watching the drills were Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and the head of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov as well as Crimean leader Sergei Aksyonov.

'This training range is the biggest on the Crimean peninsula, which allows for such exercises to be held,' said Konashenkov, adding that it had been used by Russia before the peninsula's annexation.

A Kamov Ka 52 Alligator helicopter fires rounds at a practice target during the drills. The spent shell casings can be seen dropping from the base of the aircraft

A Mil Mi-35 attack helicopter darts downwards while firing missiles. Clouds of smoke billow behind the projectiles as they head towards their target

The two attack helicopters fly in formation, raining down ammunition. Inland, on a dusty steppe, paratroopers made a mass landing while ground forces ignited a wall of fire with napalm

'On such a scale and with the deployment of different force groupings, such drills are being held for the first time,' defence ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said. Pictured are warships moored on the Black Sea coast

Konashenkov insisted to journalists: 'You should not twist this into anything - there's no politics.' However, such flexing of Russia's military muscle sent out a clear message that any real attack on Crimea will be fought off

The drills also come about a month after President Vladimir Putin accused Kiev of sending a group of saboteurs into Crimea, saying Ukraine was 'practising terror.' Pictured is a still from video footage released by the Russia's Defence Ministry

'Strategic drills... are essential to military training in Russia in 2016,' Mr Konashenkov said, 'with a focus on different troops working together.'

In Crimea, the exercises simulated an attempted invasion by a major force.

But Mr Konashenkov insisted to journalists: 'You should not twist this into anything - there's no politics.'

The drill was planned last year and is not related to the current heightened tensions with the West, he said.

Nevertheless such flexing of Russia's military muscle sent out a clear message that any real attack on Crimea will be fought off.

The war games also come about a month after President Vladimir Putin accused Kiev of sending a group of saboteurs into Crimea, saying Ukraine was 'practising terror.'

Two Russian officers were killed in clashes on the border but Ukraine denied any involvement. Pictured is an Ilyushin IL-76MD military transport aircraft depositing its payload

Two Sukhoi Su-35 multi-role fighters fly in formation as one fires off two missiles through the clear blue sky. Friday's drills took place in hot, sunny weather

A group of Russian military jets fire flares during military drills at the Black Sea coast. Flares are used to protect aircraft from heat-seeking missiles by diverting them off course

A Sukhoi Su-35 multi-role fighter flies under the path of two missiles. The aircraft has been developed since the 1980s and is now greatly improved

Four blue Sukhoi Su-34 strike fighters release their payloads. The bombs drift down in an almost even line in an impressive display of military timing

Two Russian officers were killed in clashes on the frontier but Ukraine denied any involvement.

'The troops really are training here to make sure that everything is guaranteed - security is ensured,' Konashenkov said.

'Crimea is protected now, it was protected yesterday and it was protected a year ago,' he stressed.

'Crimea is part of Russia and the country protects it like any other region.'

During Caucasus-2016, 'the troops were set the task to fight off every kind of aggression,' the defence ministry spokesman said, adding the drills included blocking and disarming illegal rebel groups.

The drills also worked on manoeuvres learnt in Syria, he said, including creating artificial ridges to allow troops to move around in a flat landscape.

'The military showed good skill level,' chief of staff Gerasimov said after the exercises.

Russia has recently beefed up its military might in Crimea - delivering its most advanced air defence system, the S-400, to the peninsula last month. Pictured is a T-90 tank firing rounds on the Opuk range

A soldier pretends to take an enemy hostage during the war game, with both men wearing different colour uniforms to differentiate between the two sides

Ukraine and its Western allies have been locked in a bitter confrontation with Russia since Moscow seized the strategic region from Kiev in March 2014

Kiev and its Western allies have accused Moscow of pouring troops and weapons across Ukraine's porous eastern border to fuel a separatist conflict that has cost almost 10,000 lives since April 2014

US-led military alliance NATO has vowed to boost troop levels in eastern Europe in response to fears in Poland and the Baltics over Russian expansionism