Review of military events in Belarus on April 15-21
Combat training, activities of the Internal Troops and territorial defense.
Dismissal of reservists drafted to military training sessions during the combat readiness inspection has begun in the 19th Mechanized Brigade and the 120th Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade. In terms of the number of reservists involved, the inspection was the largest in recent years.
Combat training activities conducted last week included battalion tactical drills at the Hozhski training ground, counter-terrorist drills in Minsk, and field drills of border guard units.
Air defense units were redeployed to Yelsk district to protect the Mazyr oil refinery. And another batch of the Sosna-2 radars was supplied to the Signal Troops.
Combat readiness inspection
The main activities of the combat readiness inspection have been completed. The units that have been additionally staffed with conscripts have returned to their permanent deployment points.
During the week, a phased dismissal of conscripts drafted to military training sessions during the combat readiness check was carried out. We recall that more than 5000 reservists were drafted to the 19th Mechanized Brigade and about 1500 – to the 120th Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade. All of them are to be dismissed to the reserve by April 30. In terms of the number of reservists drafted to military training sessions, this combat readiness inspection was the largest in recent years.
According to officials of the Ministry of Defense of Belarus, the peculiarities of the inspection were:
Combat training
Training of soldiers of the 7th Separate Tank Battalion of the 11th Mechanized Brigade continued at the 333rd combat training center of the Russian Armed Forces. The personnel were trained on actions in case of an ammunition fire. The training was of a practical nature. It was reported that on April 21, the servicemen completed the training and returned to Belarus.
Training for FPV drone operators began at the 6th Mechanized Brigade. The personnel got acquainted with the types of UAVs used, FPV drone design and controls. The future operators performed their first flight on simulators imitating modern military combat.
Soldiers of the 120th Mechanized Brigade conducted exercises during firearms training. The crews of anti-tank missile systems fired at maximum ranges at armored objects of the conditional enemy. The crews of the AGS-17 Plamya automatic grenade launchers fired from closed firing positions.
Soldiers of the pontoon-bridge battalion of the 188th Engineering Brigade built a crossing over the Dnieper river as part of field drills in Mahiliou district.
An inspection of readiness of communications units to perform their assigned tasks took place in the 6th Mechanized Brigade. As part of the inspection, the technical condition of communications equipment was assessed. Control centers were also deployed. The personnel successfully completed the assigned tasks.
Snipers of the Belarusian Armed Forces continued to be trained at the 56th training center of the Russian Armed Forces.
Training with a reconnaissance and diving unit is being conducted in the 38th Air Assault Brigade. Military divers conducted an engineering reconnaissance of the coastal area, carried out preparations for overcoming a water obstacle, and practiced entering a sunken vehicle and evacuating the crew.
Battalion tactical drills with the 52nd Separate Tank Battalion of the 6th Mechanized Brigade were conducted at the Hozhski training ground. The soldiers practiced equipping positions and tactical camouflage. The battalion carried out tasks together with motorized rifle units.
A training on the reception of conscripts at the personnel reception center was conducted in the 74th Signal Regiment.
Military commissariats and territorial defense
It was reported about the training on the procedure of operation of the notification and assembly center of village executive committees in Ivanava and Drahichyn districts, as well as with the notification headquarters in Mahiliou. Inspections of mobilization readiness of vehicles of organizations continued.
A military training session is held at the 3rd training school for tank and artillery unit specialists. 36 people were drafted to the training session.
On April 16-17, a command-staff training with the territorial defense headquarters of Brest district was held under the leadership of the military commissariat of Brest region. Officers of military commissariats of Brest region and representatives of other law enforcement agencies were involved in the training. Similar trainings were held in Krychau district (Mahiliou region) and Orsha (Vitsiebsk region).
On April 16, an open mobile trial was held in the military commissariat of Vitsiebsk city, Vitsiebsk and Liozna districts, where a criminal case on evasion of conscription for active military service (p.1 of Art.435 of the Criminal Code of Belarus) was considered. The court found the conscript guilty and sentenced him to 1 year of deprivation of liberty (suspended) and 60 hours of community service.
On April 19, a training was conducted at the military commissariat of Pruzhany district with the commanders of the district national home guard detachments and their deputies. Representatives of the Internal Affairs and Emergency Situations Departments, as well as the district hospital were invited to the training.
Internal Troops
On April 17, an educational and methodological training session with conscripts began in the 1st Militia Brigade (military unit 5448). The purpose of the training session is to update and improve the previously acquired knowledge and skills of the reservists. After an introductory theoretical course, experienced instructors will conduct training with reservists in the field on the main subjects of combat training (fire, tactical, medical, military engineering training, military topography). The training session will last 10 days and will end with the combat coordination of the platoons. At least 50 people were drafted to the training session.
Volunteers of the Chest’ separate special forces detachment (established by the Association of Veterans of the Special Forces of the Ministry of Internal Affairs) underwent combat coordination. During another training session, they practiced suppression of sabotage and illegal armed groups both in the border area and throughout the territory of Belarus.
On April 17, the command of the 4th Separate Militia Battalion (military unit 5522) held a meeting with the personnel of a volunteer special detachment.
Training courses for sapper service specialists were held on the basis of the explosives engineering center of the Internal Troops. Among other things, the servicemen learned to produce ammunition for UAVs.
The personnel of military unit 7404 underwent tactical-special exercises on the topic “Actions of the forces of the unit in conducting a counter-terrorist operation”. During the drills, they practiced search and suppression of terrorist organizations and illegal armed groups, repulsion of an attack on the convoy during the march, and organization of protection of the place of temporary deployment. And logistics units worked out the deployment of a camp, a household provision point, and the organization of food provision in the field.
For the first time, servicemen of the Shtorm special forces detachment of the Internal Troops, in cooperation with artillery units of the Special Operations Forces, conducted joint training on the use of the AGS-17 Plamya automatic grenade launchers and UAV artillery fire adjustment.
Internal Affairs agencies. Border Guard Service
On April 18, counter-terrorist drills were held in Minsk. During the drills, employees of internal affairs bodies, units of the Ministry of Emergency Situations and health care institutions practiced algorithms of joint response to emergencies in the Palazzo shopping center: for example, in case of the appearance of shooters with automatic weapons in the shopping center. It was reported that after the terrorist attack in Crocus City Hall, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Belarus took additional measures to ensure security. Particular attention is paid to places of mass events and objects with large crowds.
Large-scale drills involving all territorial bodies of internal affairs of Belarus are planned to be conducted in May. Details about the upcoming drills haven’t been disclosed yet.
On April 12-20, comprehensive field drills of maneuver groups were held in all border guard units of Belarus. The field drills were held as part of the inspection of the border guard agencies by the State Secretariat of the Security Council. The servicemen practiced the issues of preparation for the fulfillment of the assigned tasks, as well as the tactics of special actions. In conditions close to real life, maneuver groups marched many kilometers on foot and practiced battle tactics. An important stage of the drills was the practice of camouflaging units and protection of the field camp.
Amendments to legislation
According to Decree No.154 of April 15, 2024, the Department for Operational and Investigative Activities of the Ministry of Internal Affairs was renamed (reorganized) as the Department of Criminal Intelligence.
The Ministry of Defense of Belarus explained the changes in the legislation concerning notification of citizens to come to military commissariats. Now citizens can be notified that they need to come to military commissariats via SMS. They will become an additional channel of notification. A ‘paper’ summons will still remain the main one.
Military equipment
OJSC KB Radar is developing new Nebosklon and Rodnik-3D radars. Nebosklon is capable of detecting at least 250 targets simultaneously at a range of about 500 kilometers. The Rodnik-3D radar can detect and automatically track small-sized targets (e.g., UAVs) at a range of up to 10 kilometers.
JSC Agat – Electromechanical Plant supplied the Belarusian Armed Forces with another batch of the Sosna-2 R-414MBRP radars. The exact number of the radars wasn’t mentioned. The last time such stations were delivered to the army was in November 2023.
The Ministry of Defense of Belarus is planning to purchase the Berkut-3 short-range tactical reconnaissance unmanned aerial systems made in Belarus. It is planned to spend about $2.44 million for the purchase of drones. An important feature of Berkut-3 is the ability to transmit information to the fire control systems of the Tsenturion 1V12-1AB artillery divizion. For this reason, Berkut-3 will be supplied to artillery units.
Other
Units of the Air Defense Forces of the Belarusian Armed Forces – the 1146th Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment and the 147th Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment (one battery of each regiment) – were redeployed to Yelsk district. The purpose of the air defense units is to cover the Mazyr oil refinery from potential drone strikes.