Review of military events in Belarus on April 8-14
Combat training, activities of the Internal Troops and territorial defense.
Tactical drills were conducted with the 19th Mechanized Brigade and the 120th Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade. The maneuvers became a key stage of the combat readiness inspection of the Belarusian Armed Forces, which has been conducted since March 11.
Other combat training activities included training on planning and fire control, which was conducted at the Obuz-Liasnouski training ground, as well as training by PMC Wagner mercenaries for the Belarusian Armed Forces and the Internal Troops.
The spring conscription campaign in Belarus is coming to an end. Preparations for new drills with military commissariats and territorial defense continue.
International cooperation
A Cuban military delegation paid a working visit to Belarus. During the visit, the delegation held negotiations with Commander of the Belarusian Air Force and Air Defense Forces Andrei Lukyanovich and Chief of the General Staff of the Belarusian Armed Forces Viktar Hulevich. The parties exchanged views on further cooperation. The Cuban delegation also visited the 61st fighter air base in Baranavichy. Recently, Belarus and Cuba have been intensifying their cooperation in the military sphere. A series of mutual visits of the two countries’ militaries have taken place over the past few months.
On April 12, a delegation of the Belarusian Armed Forces took part in a meeting of the CSTO Military Committee. During the meeting, the implementation of joint training activities within the CSTO in 2024 and 2025 was discussed.
A delegation of the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia, headed by Deputy Director Aleksandr Khabarov, visited the Internal Troops and the Department for the Execution of Punishment of Belarus. During the meeting with Commander of the Internal Troops of Belarus Mikalai Karpiankou, the prospects for cooperation between the departments, bilateral training of officers and exchange of experience were discussed.
Combat readiness inspection
One of the largest combat readiness inspections of the Belarusian Armed Forces in recent years continued.
1) On April 9-11, tactical drills were conducted with the 19th Mechanized Brigade. The units practiced defensive actions: repulsing the offensive of the conditional enemy, destroying illegal armed formations, sabotage and reconnaissance groups, etc. The soldiers also practiced covering an important state facility with air defense equipment.
The idea of the drills included the issues of using UAVs for reconnaissance. Another feature of the drills was the practical use of weapons and equipment of the self-propelled artillery divizion battery of the Strela-10 SAM system, as well as working out interaction with the border guard authorities. The servicemen practiced evacuating the wounded and damaged equipment from the battlefield.
The drills were conducted in Vitsiebsk, Hrodna, Brest and Mahiliou regions. Lepelski, Asipovichski, Damanava training grounds, as well as terrain in the Ashmiany and Pastavy districts were used for the drills. The drills were a key stage in the combat readiness inspection.
After the drills ended, the units of the 19th Mechanized Brigade began to return to their permanent deployment point. Dismissal of conscripts (drivers) drafted to military training sessions also began.
2) Tactical drills were held at the Damanava training ground with units of the 120th Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade. For the first time, drills involving a large number of reservists were conducted in the Air Defense Forces.
During the drills, crews of the Buk SAM system performed air defense combat duty tasks. New ways of using SAM systems were practised. The crews of the ZU-23-2 and Igla systems provided direct cover for launch positions.
Much attention was paid to repelling enemy air attacks, including UAVs, improving the survivability of units, and countering sabotage and reconnaissance groups.
3) The tank and engineer-sapper battalions of the 6th Mechanized Brigade practiced installing dynamic protection on tanks and countering illegal armed formations.
Combat training
Soldiers of anti-aircraft missile and artillery batteries of the 38th Air Assault Brigade and the 103rd Airborne Brigade are stationed at the Damanava training ground for field drills.
The personnel of the 231st Artillery Brigade returned from the Asipovichski training ground to their permanent deployment point after completing field drills. The 111th Artillery Brigade and the 841st Artillery Group also completedfield drills.
Comprehensive training on planning and controlling fire attacks took place at the Obuz-Liasnouski training ground. The training involved units of the Missile and Artillery Troops, reconnaissance, UAVs, electronic warfare and aviation troops. A special feature of the training was the use of the Pustelga aviation guidance automation system. The capabilities of the system, together with the deployed communication system, allowed minimizing the time spent on making decisions on hitting the identified targets. Tactical techniques that proved their effectiveness during the war in Ukraine were used during the training sessions.
Joint combat training of the 105th Separate Mechanized Battalion of the 11th Mechanized Brigade under the guidance of PMC Wagner mercenaries continued at the Obuz-Liasnouski training ground.
Military commissariats and territorial defense
The spring conscription campaign is coming to an end in Belarus. In two weeks, military commissariats will send the first conscripts to military units. Military commissariats note an increase in the number of conscripts due to lower health requirements.
Preparations for new drills with military commissariats and territorial defense continue in Belarus. For example, mobilization drills will be conducted in Vitsiebsk region in June. Preparations are underway in Rechytsa district for a training session with conscripts of the territorial troops.
It was reported that military training sessions with reservists were conducted on the basis of the 74th Signal Regiment (13 people), the 108th Material Support Regiment (30 people), the 48th Separate Battalion of Electronic Warfare (6 people), the 3rd training school for tank and artillery units specialists, the 12th training school for communication units specialists (12 people) and the 25th Arsenal of Missile and Artillery Weapons (48 people). Also, during the week, military commissariats of Minsk region sent 46 conscripts to military training sessions.
The total amount of expenditures on national defense and mobilization of all budgets of Brest region in 2024 is $4.89 million. This is 4.7 times more than in 2023. The largest expenditures are planned in Brest, Baranavichy, Pinsk, and Kobryn district. These budgets account for 90% of the expenditures of the whole region.
On April 9, a training with commanders and deputy commanders of national home guard detachments was conducted at the military commissariat of Luninets and Hantsavichy districts. During the training, they discussed the legal basis of the national home guard activity, the procedure for handling weapons and ammunition, as well as tactical medicine.
A training session with conscripts of the territorial troops continues in Vileika district. The reservists are engaged in ideological, engineering, military-medical, reconnaissance, firearms and tactical training. Officers of the military commissariats of Minsk region and instructors of the Tornado special forces detachment take part in the training. A total of 150 conscripts were drafted to the training session.
On April 9-10, a command-staff training with the district headquarters of the territorial defense was held in Babruisk district. Representatives of military commissariats of Mahiliou region, Babruisk City Executive Committee, departments of Internal Affairs and Emergency Situations, as well as the Inspectorate of Flora and Fauna Protection took part in the training.
On April 9-10, a joint mobilization training was conducted at the military commissariats of Vitsiebsk region. During the training, the issues of supplying mobilization resources to military units being staffed in a crisis situation were practiced.
Internal Troops
Servicemen of the 7th Militia Brigade took part in special tactical exercises on the topic “Participation of the unit in a counter-terrorist operation”. The servicemen practiced marching, blocking a settlement, searching for and destroying a sabotage and reconnaissance group.
A methodological training session with platoon commanders and 2023 graduates of higher military educational institutions was held on the basis of the 4th Militia Brigade. Its purpose was to improve the level of field skills of servicemen. At group training sessions, officers and warrant officers studied the issues of planning and registration of combat training. Also, during the training session, instructors from the Shtorm and Taifun special forces detachments conducted training to practice the destruction of sabotage and reconnaissance groups in a wooded area and the storming of residential buildings and an enemy stronghold.
A three-week combat coordination of the Granit special forces detachment under the guidance of PMC Wagner was completed.
Military equipment
State enterprise Precision Electromechanics Plant has developed and successfully conducted testing of a unified explosive-stabilizing module for use in hand-held fragmentation grenades from attack UAVs.