Combat training, activities of the Internal Troops and territorial defense.
The National Security Concept and Military Doctrine were approved at the All-Belarusian People’s Assembly.
Combat training activities last week included battalion tactical drills with the 11th and 120th Mechanized Brigades, as well as command-staff drills with the Brigade of the Nuclear, Chemical, and Biological Protection and with technical support units.
Units of the 740th Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment were redeployed to the border with Russia. A Su-30SM fighter arrived at Baranavichy airfield from Russia.
Combat training
On April 17-18, tactical-special drills were conducted with the road-bridge battalion of the 36th Road-Bridge Brigade at the Lesishcha training ground.
On April 22-26, command-staff drills were conducted with military authorities and military technical support units. During the drills, issues related to the management of technical support for troops, the restoration of military equipment, the work of mobile repair crews, and the security and defense of military units of technical support were worked out. The drills involved 800 people and about 100 pieces of equipment. A special feature of the drills was that the units carried out their tasks at permanent deployment points. During the drills, the issues of using the local industrial base, which is provided by local authorities, for the repair of military equipment were also considered. The 25th Missile and Artillery Arsenal and other units took part in the drills.
On April 22, as part of a comprehensive inspection under the leadership of the Chief of the General Staff of the Belarusian Armed Forces, the management of the Western Operational Command, as well as communication, guard and service units were brought to readiness to perform their assigned tasks. As part of the inspection, the 74th Signal Regiment deployed the personnel reception point and practiced the reception of mobilization resources. Later, the regiment’s units marched to the assigned areas, where they carried out the deployment of communications equipment.
Command-staff drills were conducted in the 8th Brigade of Nuclear, Chemical and Biological Protection. During the drills, the units practiced a set of Nuclear, Chemical and Biological Protection tasks, performed aerosol masking of the troop concentration area, conducted chemical reconnaissance, and carried out special treatment of military equipment. Conscripts were drafted from the reserve to take part in the drills.
A joint staff training with the communications control bodies was held under the leadership of the Chief of Communications of the Belarusian Armed Forces. During the training, an optimal approach to the combat use of communication nodes of control centers was worked out.
Battalion tactical drills were conducted at the Barysauski training ground with tank and motorized rifle units of the 120th Mechanized Brigade. The soldiers fired T-72B tanks, BMP-2 infantry fighting vehicles, AGS-17 grenade launchers and 2B11 mortars. The personnel performed the tasks of occupying the frontier, searching for, blocking and destroying the conditional enemy in the area of responsibility, evacuating the wounded and damaged equipment. UAVs were actively used during the drills.
UAV detachments of the Western Operational Command practiced dropping metal spikes on the path of wheeled vehicles. Such a method is used during the war in Ukraine to impede movements of wheeled vehicles.
A training was conducted with communications units of the tank battalion of the 11th Mechanized Brigade. During the training, all available communications equipment was deployed and tested. A similar training was conducted with units of the 6th Mechanized Brigade.
Training continued at the Obuz-Liasnouski training ground for the 105th Separate Mechanized Battalion of the 11th Mechanized Brigade under the guidance of PMC Wagner mercenaries. During the training, the focus was on the use of anti-tank weapons and UAVs. The training ended with battalion tactical drills. The main focus of the drills was on fighting illegal armed formations and sabotage and reconnaissance groups. During the drills, they also practiced: unit management during special operations to search for and block illegal armed formations and sabotage and reconnaissance groups of the conditional enemy, assault operations to capture a stronghold, reconnaissance using UAVs and countering attack drones, organizing ambushes and destroying enemy’s convoys, tactical military deception.
Training of snipers of the Belarusian Armed Forces continues on the basis of the 56th training center for junior specialists of motorized rifle troops of the Russian Armed Forces.
International cooperation
On April 22, the head of the International Military Cooperation Department held a meeting with military diplomats from Peru. The parties discussed the state of international military cooperation between the countries, prospects and directions for its further development. The meeting also included the accreditation of three Peruvian military diplomats in Belarus.
On April 22, an Iranian military delegation headed by the Deputy Minister of Defense and Logistics of the Armed Forces of Iran paid a visit to Belarus. The delegation visited the Research Institute of the Belarusian Armed Forces and the Military Academy, met with the leadership of the institutions and got acquainted with the training material base. During the visit, the parties discussed areas for further joint work in the field of military science and education.
On April 23-26, an Egyptian military delegation led by the head of the General Directorate of Combat Training and Military Education of the Egyptian Armed Forces paid an official visit to Belarus. During the visit, the delegation met with the head of the Main Directorate of Combat Training of the Belarusian Armed Forces. The representatives of the Egyptian delegation also visited military educational institutions of Belarus. The parties outlined prospects for further cooperation in the field of military training.
On April 26, the Meeting of Defense Ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization member states was held in Astana. Belarusian Defense Minister Viktar Khrenin made a report at the meeting. Among other things, he said that they “advocate peaceful resolution of any disputes and conflicts” and that “Belarus has decided to join the SCO and has now completed all the necessary procedures to join the organization.” Khrenin had a bilateral meeting with the Chinese Defense Minister and the Iranian Minister of Defense and Logistics of the Armed Forces at this event.
Chief of the General Staff of the Belarusian Armed Forces Viktar Hulevich is on an official visit to Uzbekistan. According to the program of the visit, a number of meetings and negotiations will be held with the military leadership of Uzbekistan, as well as visits to military educational institutions and centers, defense enterprises.
Military commissariats and territorial defense
During the week, trainings with the administration of the notification headquarters and inspections of village executive committees (regarding their readiness to supply mobilization resources) were reported.
Territorial defense drills will be held in Bykhau district (Mahiliou region) on May 7-31.
240 conscripts were drafted to participate in command-staff drills with technical support units. 100 of them – to the 25th Missile and Artillery Arsenal.
On April 23-24, a joint staff training with the territorial defense authorities of Mahiliou region was conducted.
On April 23-25, command-staff drills with the territorial defense forces of Vileika district were held under the leadership of the deputy chairman of the Minsk Regional Executive Committee. The drills included preparation of defense on the outskirts of a settlement, ambush operations, protection and defense of infrastructure, and ensuring martial law measures with the involvement of a national home guard detachment. 130 reservists took part in the drills.
On April 23, new recruits drafted for compulsory military service began to be sent to the troops. A total of about 10,000 people are to be drafted. The number of conscripts drafted for compulsory service hasn’t changed for the last 10 years. At the same time, the number of conscripts who serve under contract instead of compulsory service is growing.
On April 26, after a military training session at the 46th Missile and Ammunition Arsenal, 11 conscripts arrived at the military commissariat of Drahichyn district. It was reported that the 111th Artillery Brigade also completed a military training session. 19 reservists took part in them.
Internal Troops
Conscripts taking part in a training session at the 1st Militia Brigade of the Internal Troops performed firing exercises with automatic rifles, machine guns and sniper rifles. As part of the combat coordination, the reservists practiced the tasks of countering sabotage and reconnaissance groups, counter-ambush operations, as well as storming and clearing a trench as part of a small tactical group. PMC Wagner mercenaries took part in the training of reservists. On April 25, it was reported that the training session had been completed.
The Grom special forces detachment was formed on the basis of the 5th Militia Brigade of the Internal Troops (military unit 6713). The detachment became the twelfth such unit formed since 2022. The tasks of the detachment are to search for and eliminate illegal armed formations and sabotage and reconnaissance groups, to assist in the protection of the state border, etc. The detachment has more than 60 people. The unit is armed with armored vehicles, mortars, anti-tank missile systems, automatic grenade launchers, UAVs of various types, etc.
Another training session on combat training with veterans of the Chest’ special forces unit of the Interior Ministry troops was held at the training center of the Internal Troops.
Development of infrastructure
The construction of a new border outpost on the border with Ukraine begins in Kamaryn (Brahin district). The outpost will be the seventh to be built in Homiel region since 2022.
Military equipment
The Belarusian military are developing laser weapons.
ALEVKURP OJSC is finalizing the production of the PU-12ML mobile control stations. The products are designed for fire control of military air defense units. PU-12ML provides reception, processing, display and analysis of information about the air situation, automatic target distribution between units, solution of information and calculation tasks using digital terrain map. The equipment of the control center allows simultaneous tracking of up to 150 airborne objects.
The state media reported that the 377th Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment of the Belarusian Armed Forces had been rearmed with the S-400 SAM systems. Officially, the Ministry of Defense of Belarus didn’t comment on the transfer of the S-400 systems to the regiment. In 2022-2023, Russia transferred a regiment set (two divizions) of the S-400 systems to Belarus.
Movements of troops
On April 23, a Su-30SM fighter of the Russian Aerospace Forces arrived at Baranavichy airfield from Russia. Now there are two Su-24MR reconnaissance aircraft and at least one Su-30SM fighter of the Russian Aerospace Forces permanently stationed at Baranavichy airfield (as of today, there are at least two of them). We regularly record flights of these aircraft in Belarus’ airspace.
Units of the 19th Mechanized Brigade stationed in the area bordering Lithuania were not withdrawn to the permanent deployment point. Earlier, in mid-March, the brigade’s tank and mechanized battalions were redeployed to the border with Lithuania (Ashmiany and Pastavy districts) as part of the combat readiness inspection. Speaking at the All-Belarusian People’s Assembly on April 25th, Aliaksandr Lukashenka confirmed the presence of the Belarusian military near the Lithuanian border: “We are now standing face to face with NATO.” The presence of the military in the border area can be considered as a ‘response’ to the military drills in Lithuania.
One of the units of the 740th Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment of the Belarusian Armed Forces was redeployed to Klimavichy district (Mahiliou region). The military were deployed near the border with Russia. The purpose of the military deployment in the area bordering Russia is unknown.
Other
On April 24-25, the VI International Military Science Conference was held in Minsk. The conference was attended by representatives of structural units of the Ministry of Defense, the General Staff, higher education institutions, scientific organizations and enterprises of the defense sector of the Belarusian economy, representatives of scientific organizations and armed forces of the CIS member states.
On April 24, a conference on the development and implementation of new forms and methods of combat operations in the training of troops, taking into account the experience of the war in Ukraine, was held in Minsk under the leadership of the Deputy Defense Minister.
Dismissal of military personnel who have completed their compulsory military service is taking place in military units and formations of the Belarusian Armed Forces. At the same time, new recruits are being admitted. Initial military training is conducted with the servicemen.
On the night of April 26-27, several Russian missiles launched at targets on the territory of Ukraine flew over Homiel region of Belarus.
On April 24-25, the All-Belarusian People’s Assembly was held. The delegates of the assembly approved the National Security Concept and the Military Doctrine. In particular, the updated Military Doctrine stipulated that Belarus considers the deployment of Russian nuclear weapons on its territory as a tool to “deter potential enemies from unleashing armed aggression.” The doctrine also stipulates that Belarus considers any actions with the use of force directed against the member states of the Union State (Russia and Belarus) as an encroachment on the Union State as a whole and will take “appropriate retaliatory measures.” These regulations were not included in the previous version of the Doctrine of 2016.
On April 25, speaking at the All-Belarusian People’s Assembly, Aliaksandr Lukashenka said that several dozens of nuclear warheads – aircraft bombs and warheads for missiles – were placed in Belarus. Apart from the statements, there are no other facts confirming the deployment of nuclear weapons in Belarus.
On April 25, the head of the State Security Committee, Ivan Tsertsel, said that the special services of Belarus had prevented drone strikes from the territory of Lithuania against the facilities in Minsk. No facts that would confirm the prevention of UAV strikes were presented.
On April 26, the 34th graduation of officers took place at the Faculty of Advanced Training and Retraining of Personnel of the Military Academy. The training was completed by 79 servicemen, 21 of whom were women. The training of servicemen at the courses is one of the sources of staffing the Belarusian Armed Forces with officers. The courses for training junior officers have been functioning since 2006. During this period, more than two thousand people have been trained.
