Review of military events in Belarus on June 24-30
Combat training, activities of the Internal Troops and territorial defense.
The combat readiness inspection, which began on June 21, continued. It was reported that additional units of the Belarusian Armed Forces had been redeployed to the area bordering Ukraine, including a divizion of Polonez MLRS.
On June 27, a decree was signed, which approved new elements of military uniforms for servicemen. A one-day training session on territorial defense was held in Minsk region.
The flight restriction zone for all types of civil aircraft (including drones) in the south of Belarus was extended until September 30, 2024. May-June, the Rada Airlines cargo airline twice flew from Belarus to Mali, where the rest of PMC Wagner mercenaries are stationed.
Combat readiness inspection
The combat readiness inspection, which began on June 21, continued. The Ministry of Defense of Belarus reported that units of the Belarusian Armed Forces began to carry out combat training tasks to search for, block and destroy sabotage and reconnaissance groups of the conditional enemy, as well as to occupy defensive lines. They also practiced the issues of reinforcing the border sections on the possible directions of illegal entry into the territory of Belarus by armed groups of militants, as well as blocking the channels of delivery of weapons and ammunition. Artillery units acted jointly with the Special Operations Forces. At the same time, the Ministry of Defense of Belarus presented the rehearsal of the military parade on July 3 as an activity within the framework of the combat readiness inspection.
The escalation of the situation on the border started on June 28. The State Border Committee of Belarus said that there was the Russian Volunteer Corps in the area of responsibility of the Zhytomyr border guard detachment of Ukraine. In Yelsk district (Homiel region, Belarus), the border guard stopped the flight of an unmanned aerial vehicle from Ukraine deep into Belarus after the use of “combat weapons and means of suppression.”
Moreover, law enforcers found a cache with components for making explosive devices. The video evidence of the events presented by the State Border Committee has all signs of being staged. On the same day, the Ministry of Defense of Belarus said that a divizion of Polonez MLRS was redeployed to the area bordering Ukraine with full ammunition. All of the mentioned above allows us to state that the State Border Committee together with the Ministry of Defense of Belarus carried out a coordinated information and psychological special operation to escalate the situation.
The escalation of the situation continued on Saturday, June 29. The deputy commander of the Special Operations Forces of Belarus said that Ukraine was drawing troops to the borders of Belarus. And in the minefields created on the Belarus-Ukraine border, passages were left for the subsequent sending of sabotage and reconnaissance groups to Belarus to carry out sabotage and terrorist acts.
The head of the Anti-Aircraft Missile Troops of the Belarusian Armed Forces of Belarus said that the situation in the airspace was tense. Due to an increase in the number of UAV flights in the northern part of Ukraine conducting reconnaissance in the areas bordering Belarus, as well as the accumulation of air defense forces in Zhytomyr region, additional units of the Belarusian air defense forces were sent to the border to cover military facilities of civilian infrastructure.
Pavel Muraveika, the head of the General Staff of the Belarusian Armed Forces, made a number of statements on June 29. According to the official, the situation on the southern border of Belarus is quite complicated. And it is getting worse every day. And special purpose units of the National Guard arrived in Ovruch (Zhytomyr region). According to Muraveika, such units “form real challenges, which can saturate our territory with sabotage and reconnaissance groups, can conduct provocations.”
On Sunday, June 30, Pavel Muraveika added in an interview to the state media that there are 10 NATO battalion tactical groups near the Belarusian borders and that Belarus is ready to use nuclear weapons “if the sovereignty and independence of our country is threatened.”
The situation on the Belarus-Ukraine border continues to be escalated by the Lukashenka regime.
International cooperation
On June 26, a meeting of the Joint Council of the Transport Troops of Belarus and the Railway Troops of Russia was held at the 30th Railway Brigade of the Belarusian Armed Forces. During the meeting, the results of joint cooperation in 2024 were summarized, and topical issues of further activities were discussed.
Representatives of the military media and the Information Department of the Ministry of Defense of Belarus are on a press tour in Zimbabwe. The official part of the trip began with a meeting of the Belarusan delegation with the Chief of Staff of Joint Operations and Planning Jasper Marangwanda and a briefing on the organization and tasks of the Public Relations Service and the Department of Civil-Military Relations of the Zimbabwean Armed Forces. During the press tour, the Belarusian delegation also got acquainted with the system of organization of information support for the activities of the Zimbabwean military department.
Military commissariats and territorial defense
On June 25, a one-day training session on territorial defense was held on the basis of Pukhavichy district of Minsk region. Chairmen of district executive committees, as well as representatives of military commissariats of Minsk region were invited to the training. The main topic of the event was the activity of the national home guard. According to the chairman of the Minsk Regional Executive Committee, Aliaksandr Turchyn, “By October 1, all preparatory activities (for the formation of national home guards), including briefings, should be carried out.”
In addition to the theoretical part, including familiarization with documents related to the national home guard and instructions on working with weapons, the participants of the training session visited the site, where they practiced first aid skills in the field.
During the exercises, the participants were shown modern approaches to the training of military personnel in the main disciplines of combat training. Much focus was on conclusions from forms and methods of armed confrontation in modern armed conflicts, including the use of UAVs for various purposes.
On June 26, training with the administration of the headquarters for the notification of conscripts of one of the city enterprises was held in Mahiliou.
On June 27, another training session with conscripts drafted from the reserve was completed in the 120th Mechanized Brigade. In total, about 40 reservists were drafted to the training session.
On June 28, another military training session with conscripts drafted from the reserve was completed at the 61st Fighter Air Base. A total of about 15 reservists were drafted to the training session.
Internal Troops
On June 27, servicemen of the Tornado special forces detachment of the 2nd Militia Brigade of the Internal Troops took part in tactical specialty drills in Barysau. The readiness of government agencies to respond and cooperate in emergency situations was inspected on the territory of the Palace of Culture. The main focus was on practicing measures to ensure the safety of citizens and personnel.
Servicemen of the Vitsiaz special forces detachment began combat coordination at the Valoushchyna training center of the Internal Troops. With the knowledge of experienced instructors, the special forces soldiers repeated the theoretical basics, underwent single-unit training, and are completing the first week of training by improving their shooting skills. The fighters will undergo intensified training in topography, engineering and medical training, as well as practicing the search and destruction of sabotage and reconnaissance groups and illegal armed groups in urban and wooded areas.
On June 29, a one-day training session was held at the training ground of the Valoushchyna training center of the Internal Troops with the fighters of the Chest’ volunteer special forces detachment. During the training conducted by instructors of the Internal Troops, the unit continued to improve practical skills in tactical and firearms training. Special attention was paid to practicing coordination and interaction as part of a small group at close combat ranges.
Rearmament
Additional confirmation that the Grad MLRS have entered service with the artillery units of the Special Operations Forces appeared. Most likely, rocket artillery batteries (six combat vehicles each) were formed in each of the brigades.
Other
In May-June, the Belarusian Rada Airlines cargo airline twice flew by the Il-62 passenger aircraft from Orsha to the capital of Mali, Bamako. It is known that the rest of the mercenaries of PMC Wagner are deployed in Mali. It should also be noted that in October-November 2023, a possible transportation of the mercenaries from Belarus to Mali by aircraft of the Russian AbakanAir airline was recorded.
The flight restriction zone for all types of civil aircraft (including UAVs) at altitudes from 0 to 19,800 meters in southern Belarus is extended according to NOTAMN O0380/24 from 00:00 on July 1 to 23:59 on September 30, 2024. The ban on flights over the southern part of Belarus was introduced on February 24, 2022, with the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. It was from the south of Belarus that missile strikes were launched against Ukrainian territory. Thus, the potential threat of missile attacks on the territory of Ukraine from the airspace of Belarus remains at least until the end of September 2024.
On June 24, another military rank of major-general was awarded to: Ruslan Chekhau, the head of the Missile and Artillery Troops of the Armed Forces, Vadim Surau, the head of the 72nd Joint Training Center, Ihar Kazlou, the deputy commander of the Northwestern Operational Command, and Aliaksandr Bykau, the first deputy commander of the Internal Troops.
On June 24, Colonel Dzmitry Streshynski was appointed head of the main military inspectorate of the Belarusian Armed Forces. He was dismissed from the post of head of the Territorial Defense Department – deputy head of the General Staff of the Belarusian Armed Forces. Colonel Andrei Krauchanka was appointed to this post.
On June 27, a decree was signed, which approved new models of military uniforms for servicemen. The new uniform elements included tactical shirts, fleece jackets and helmets for combat uniforms.
Graduation exams were held at the 114th Warrant Officer and Food Service Specialist Training School. The exams were held in the following disciplines: combat, ideological, firearms, physical, tactical and specialty training, as well as general military regulations. A total of 169 servicemen, 13 of them women, passed the tests for the right to receive the military rank of “Warrant Officer”.