The Belarus military exercises have commenced with participation from more than 1500 troops representing Belarus, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan.
The participating forces include military contingents, internal affairs units, and national guard troops, as well as operational groups from the Unified Staff and the CSTO Secretariat. The backbone of the Russian military contingent consists of units from the Central Military District’s ground forces.
In total, over 1500 servicemen and more than 300 pieces of weaponry, military, and special equipment are engaged in the drills, including approximately 80 various types of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
The exercises will take place at the Losvido training ground, focusing on the preparation and execution of peacekeeping operations by CSTO collective forces. At the Starodorozhsky training ground, the drills will also address the elimination of biological threat sources.
Context
- In May, Belarus’s defense ministry conducted joint exercises with Russia involving the delivery and preparation of nuclear munitions. The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry labeled these actions as “a precedent-setting challenge to global security architecture.”
- On September 10, Oleksandr Ivashchenko, head of Ukraine’s military intelligence, stated that Ukraine’s intelligence had information indicating that Belarus is forming a new airborne assault brigade 40 km from the Ukrainian border, although no ground invasion threat is observed.
