Combat training, activities of the Internal Troops and territorial defense.
On January 6-12, 28 Russian drones of the Shahed type were recorded in Belarus’ airspace. One of the drones could have been destroyed near Ziabrauka airfield by the Russian military.
The West-2025 drills will be one of the largest in recent years. More than 13,000 servicemen of the Belarusian Armed Forces and Russian Armed Forces will be involved in the maneuvers.
The Sopka-2 radar system was put on combat duty in Lida. The system is maintained by servicemen of the 8th Radio-Engineering Brigade.
On January 8, a training session with conscripts of the territorial troops began in Homiel district. The reservists will be trained, among other things, to perform tasks together with the engineering units of the Belarusian Armed Forces.
International cooperation
On January 9, under the leadership of Valery Revenka, the head of the Department of International Military Cooperation of the Ministry of Defense of Belarus, a methodological training session was held with officers of international military cooperation and military administration bodies responsible for preparing and conducting international military cooperation events. During the training session, the main provisions of the Concept of International Military Cooperation of the Ministry of Defense of Belarus and the Plan of International Military Cooperation for 2025 were reviewed, and the main requirements and specifics of receiving foreign military delegations and protocol support for events in the Belarusian Armed Forces were presented.
On January 10, Valery Revenka announced the activities of military international cooperation. According to the official, “The plan for international military cooperation in 2025 will include 853 events. The growth in the number of events will be due to the development of cooperation within the SCO. We are interested in developing relations with the African region, Egypt.”
Speaking about the West-2025 drills, Revenka emphasized that the maneuvers would be one of the largest in recent years: “In terms of scale, they will exceed 13,000 personnel. […] We were obliged and have already notified all the states participating in the Vienna Document that we will host these drills.” It is planned to invite delegations from “allies, friends, partners” to observe the drills, including individual member states of the European Union and NATO. It was not specified which ones.
Combat training
On January 9, it was reported that soldiers of one of the mechanized battalions of the 11th Mechanized Brigade went to the scheduled field drills. The units marched to the location of the field drills in a combined manner.
On January 9, commander’s flights were held at the 50th Combined Air Base. Commander of the Air Force and Air Defense Forces of Belarus Andrei Lukyanovich personally took part in the flights. It was reported that the pilots sharpened their skills on Mi-8MTV-5, Mi-24 and Mi-35M helicopters, Il-76MD and An-26 military transport aircraft, as well as Tu-134A-3 passenger aircraft. During the flights, they practiced piloting techniques, flying at extremely low altitudes and landing approaches in poor visibility conditions.
On January 9, the personnel of the pontoon-bridge battalion of the 557th Engineering Brigade held night exercises on the Nioman river. During the exercises, the servicemen practiced the procedures for equipping ferry crossings. The night drills tested the readiness of the personnel to work in difficult conditions of limited visibility. Particular attention was paid to the coordination of actions of the crews, the accuracy of task performance and compliance with safety measures.
One of the divizions of the 336th Rocket Artillery Brigade of the Belarusian Armed Forces, armed with Polonez MLRS, held control exercises at a Russian training ground. The exercises ended with live launches from the MLRS at a range of 300 kilometers.
Flights of Russian UAVs into Belarus
On January 6, 6 Russian UAVs of the Shahed type flying into Belarus’ airspace from the territory of Ukraine were detected. Two drones subsequently returned to the territory of Ukraine, while the fate of the rest is unknown. The Belarusian Air Force was not involved in the interception of the UAVs.
On January 8, 17 Russian UAVs of the Shahed type were detected in Belarus’ airspace: 14 UAVs from the territory of Ukraine and 3 from Russia. 8 drones subsequently returned to Ukraine, while the fate of the rest is unknown. The Belarusian Air Force was not involved in intercepting the UAVs.
On the night of January 8-9, 4 Russian UAVs of the Shahed type flying from the territory of Ukraine were detected in Belarus’ airspace. The fate of all four is unknown. The Belarusian Air Force was not involved in intercepting the UAVs.
On January 8, a Russian UAV of the Shahed type crashed near Ziabrauka airfield (Homiel district). Presumably, the drone was shot down by the air defense units of the Russian Armed Forces, deployed at Ziabrauka airfield.
On January 11, one Russian UAV of the Shahed type flying from the territory of Ukraine was detected in Belarus’ airspace. The drone subsequently returned to the territory of Ukraine. The Belarusian Air Force was not involved in the interception of the UAV.
A total of about 28 Russian UAVs of the Shahed type flew into Belarus on January 6-12.
On January 12, deputy commander of the Air Force and Air Defense Forces of Belarus Leanid Davidovich said in the “Arsenal” program, “If not every night, then every other night, every 24 hours our fighter aviation crews take to the sky to counter unmanned aircraft, which violate the state border [of Belarus], violate the order of using the airspace.” Davidovich did not specify which country the drones belonged to.
Rearmament. Work of the military-industrial complex
In an interview with state media, Defense Minister Viktar Khrenin spoke about further development of the Belarusian V-300 Polonez-M MLRS: “We are proud of this system, we treat it very carefully. And I will say more: we do not stop at what we have achieved. But we will tell you about it later, because this system will become even better. The most important thing is that we have trained people who know how to use it. We have created good conditions for its storage and use.”
On January 8, the 2nd Radio-Technical Center of the 2285th Separate Radio-Technical Battalion of the 8th Radio-Technical Brigade (military unit 48685, Lida airfield) presented the personnel with a Russian-made Sopka-2 radar system. Sopka-2 is used as a source of radar information for air traffic control systems and airspace control. Its capabilities allow measuring the range and altitude of air objects and determining their state affiliation (“friend or foe”). The system is capable of detecting modern means of air attack.
In 2025, the 8th Radio-Technical Brigade will receive Belarusian-made Rosa-RB low-altitude radar systems. The system is capable of detecting and recognizing targets at a height of one meter above the ground.
Infrastructure development
On January 9, the 6th Mechanized Brigade opened a new simulator for training operators of the Igla MANPADS. The simulator will allow the brigade’s soldiers to practice using MANPADS in conditions as close to real life as possible. Thanks to this, it is possible to improve their skills without being exposed to risk.
Military Commissariats. Territorial defense
On January 3, the military commissariat of Kobryn and Zhabinka districts held a mobile trial of a criminal case on evasion of conscription (part 1 of Article 435 of the Criminal Code). The court found the conscript guilty and sentenced him to three months of arrest.
On January 8-31, a training session with the conscripts of the territorial troops will be held under the leadership of the chairman of Homiel District Executive Committee. During the training session, reservists will be drafted. And the command of the rifle battalion of the territorial troops will restore skills in the management of subordinate units. Special attention will be paid to the training of conscripts to perform tasks together with engineering units of the Belarusian Armed Forces. Homiel district (bordering Chernihiv region of Ukraine) became the first region of Belarus to hold drills with territorial defense in 2025.
Internal Troops
On January 10, it was reported that as part of a training session at the Valoushchyna training center, practical exercises were held with commanders of special operations teams. Specialists improved the use of “special operation support means” (including in cooperation with UAV crews). The bombardment of stationary targets with various munitions using UAVs was studied separately.
On January 11, the press service of the Internal Troops reported that 2025 has been declared the year of development of the unmanned aerial system and EW in the troops. Taking into account the “analysis of modern military conflicts,” the Internal Troops are focusing on the development of UAV and EW areas and have adapted the combat training program to it. In addition, special forces detachments have not only established EW and UAV units of all types, but also provide independent training for these specialists.
On January 12, first deputy commander of the Internal Troops Aliaksandr Bykau spoke about the situation in the border area with Ukraine in an interview with state media. According to him, special forces detachments were deployed in Brest and Homiel regions in 2024 and are permanently stationed there at temporary deployment points. The units perform counter-terrorism and counter-sabotage tasks.
When asked about the creation of new special forces detachments within the structure of the Internal Troops, Bykau said, “[New detachments] can definitely be created. […] If such a decision is necessary, believe me, the number of trained fighters will increase many times.” In addition, the Internal Troops have set up a number of centers for the training of UAV operators and means of countering UAVs.
Speaking about combat training, Bykau noted that Internal Troops have the opportunity to “involve in our training those instructors who have real combat experience.” In general, the training for the use of all special units of the Ministry of Internal Affairs is the most flexible, advanced and corresponds to the realities of combat operations.
Other
It became known what the organizational and staff structure of the 62nd Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment will be (the regiment was formed in 2024 in Hrodna, it is part of the Western Operational Command). It includes the following units: headquarters, command post, batteries (4 anti-aircraft missile batteries; control and radar reconnaissance; technical), companies (communications; material support; repair) and a medical station. The structure is classic for anti-aircraft missile regiments armed with the Osa SAM systems.
