Review of military events in Belarus on June 3-9
Combat training, activities of the Internal Troops and territorial defense.
During the past week, exercises on combat readiness were conducted in the Belarusian Armed Forces, during which the recourse of units to martial law was practiced. Such exercises are held twice a year.
Construction of storage facilities for Iskander-M missile systems is underway in Asipovichy. This indicates that Belarus may receive a brigade set of Iskander systems from Russia in the future.
The Irkutsk Aviation Plant is manufacturing a batch of Su-30SM2 fighters for the Belarusian Armed Forces. The fighters can be expected to be delivered to the troops in 2025-2026.
Combat training
Combat readiness exercises were held in the 83rd Engineering Airfield Regiment. Such exercises are held after the conscription for compulsory military service and mastering of the initial military training program by new recruits. The general orientation of the training is to conduct a set of exercises with the personnel of all units on the organized implementation of measures for recourse units to martial law to maintain combat and mobilization readiness.
During the exercises, a set of measures was taken to bring the military unit to the highest levels of combat readiness, including the deployment of a personnel reception point and an equipment reception point. The regiment’s servicemen practiced the collection, reception, distribution and transfer of equipment and personnel. Similar trainings were conducted in other units of the Belarusian Armed Forces.
On June 5, as part of the preparations for the upcoming combat training exercises, a review of readiness took place in the 78th Mechanized Battalion of the 6th Mechanized Brigade. On June 6, the review also took place in the 52nd Separate Tank Battalion of the brigade, and on June 7 in the 7th Separate Tank Battalion of the 11th Mechanized Brigade.
International cooperation
On June 4, Minister of Defense of Belarus Viktar Khrenin had a working meeting with the Secretary of the Council of Defense Ministers of the CIS member states, Yury Dashkin, in Minsk. During the meeting, they discussed topical issues of multilateral military cooperation in the CIS format and discussed preparations for the next meeting of the Council of Defense Ministers of the CIS member states. The meeting will be held on July 3 in Minsk.
On June 6, Belarusian Defense Minister Viktar Khrenin had telephone negotiations with Azerbaijani Defense Minister Zakir Hasanov. The heads of the defense ministries discussed preparations for the next meeting of the Council of Defense Ministers of the CIS member states, which will be held in Minsk on July 3. The Azerbaijani Defense Minister confirmed his participation in the upcoming meeting.
Military commissariats and territorial defense
Command-staff drills were held on June 3-5 as part of the training session with conscripts of the territorial troops of Rechytsa district. The drills became the final stage of the training session. During the command-staff drills, the main focus was on practicing martial law measures with the involvement of a national home guard detachment.
From June 4 to July 5, a training session with conscripts of the territorial troops of Partyzanski district of Minsk will be held. The training session is aimed not only at training reservists in military specialties, but also at their participation in the military parade, which will take place on July 3 in Minsk. During the training session, the following issues will be worked out: notification, conscription and supply of conscripts from the reserve; obtaining stocks of materiel, weapons and equipment, necessary for the formation of the territorial troops. About 170 reservists were drafted from the reserve to the training session.
On June 4, a one-day training session on territorial defense with chairmen of district executive committees of Homiel region was conducted in Rechytsa district. The participants of the training session learned: organization of territorial defense on the administrative territory; the procedure of management of the territorial defense forces; peculiarities of equipping the checkpoint and organization of its operation; the procedure of formation of national home guard detachments; repulsion of an attack by a sabotage and reconnaissance group.
Combat readiness exercises were conducted at military commissariats of Brest region. On June 4, a training of the department for formation and dispatch of reservists for additional staffing of military units, as well as practical deployment of the notification site and notification of conscripts took place at military commissariats of Luninets and Hantsavichy districts. On June 5, scheduled exercises were conducted in Kobryn district with the objects of the mobilization base – points of preliminary collection of equipment and conscripts. Similar trainings were held at military commissariats all over Belarus.
On June 4, at least 64 conscripts were sent to a military training session by the military commissariat of Mahiliou and Mahiliou district.
A military training session with reservists was completed in the 557th Engineering Brigade. At least 16 conscripts were drafted from the reserve.
A military training session with reservists is being conducted in the 120th Mechanized Brigade. At least 15 conscripts were drafted to the training session.
Internal Troops
On June 4, a training and methodological session with conscripts of the engineering support units of the Internal Troops began in the 2nd Militia Brigade (military unit 3310) and the 3rd Special Forces Brigade (military unit 3214). About 50 reservists were drafted to the training session. After the introductory theoretical course, experienced instructors will conduct exercises with reservists on fire, tactical, medical, military engineering training and military topography in the field. Also, reserve servicemen in the composite company of engineering support will have to undergo combat coordination. The training session will last 10 days. This is the first time that a training session is being held with conscripts of engineering units.
The combat coordination of the Tsiklon special-purpose detachment continued. The servicemen of the unit guarding the Belarusian NPP were improving their skills at the Valoushchyna special forces training center under the leadership of PMC Wagner mercenaries. During the past week, the servicemen practiced searching for enemy sabotage and reconnaissance groups in wooded areas and firing from various positions in dynamics.
Rearmament
On June 5, during a visit to the Irkutsk Aviation Plant, Lukashenka was shown the assembly of Su-30SM2 fighters for the Belarusian army (a modernized version of the Su-30SM fighters). Previously, purchases of Su-30SM fighters for the army were repeatedly announced. Based on the latest public statements by officials of the Ministry of Defense of Belarus, the Belarusian Armed Forces are to receive a certain number of Su-30SM in 2024. Later, supplies of Su-30SM2 will begin. One can expect that Belarusian pilots will receive the first Su-30SM2 in 2025-2026.
Other
On June 8, a group of servicemen of the Russian Armed Forces and 10 T-34 tanks arrived in Belarus to take part in the military parade on July 3.
The pilots of the 50th combined air base are adopting experience from the pilots of the Ministry of Emergency Situations in extinguishing fires. For this purpose, they flew helicopters with a water-draining device.
According to satellite images, two storage facilities for military equipment are being built on the territory of the military town No. 2 “Paudniovy” in Asipovichy, where missile and artillery units of the Belarusian Armed Forces (the 51st Artillery Brigade, the 336th Rocket Artillery Brigade and the 465th Missile Brigade) are deployed. The new facilities are very similar to the storage facility for Iskander-M systems, which was built on the territory of the military town in 2022-2023. The construction of new storage facilities indicates that Russia is planning to continue transferring Iskander-M missile systems to Belarus. In total, the Belarusian Armed Forces may receive a brigade set of Iskander-M (3 missile divisions, 4 self-propelled launchers in each). The published images also show the reconstruction of two administrative buildings, as well as the laying of foundations for new constructions of unknown purpose. The construction of these facilities is probably also related to the deployment of Iskanders.
The State Authority for Military Industry successfully conducted a 400-kilometer march and live firing on the territory of a foreign customer with 9A33-2B combat vehicles from the Osa SAM system, modernized by the 2566th Radio-Electronic Weapons Repair Plant. Air targets were hit by each combat vehicle at the first attempt.