Combat training, activities of the Internal Troops and territorial defense.
The Belarusian Railroad is preparing to receive military cargo trains with military equipment, ammunition and personnel of the Russian Armed Forces. At the moment, no transfer of the Russian troops to Belarus has been recorded.
The artillery units of the Special Operations Forces have received the Grad MLRS. Deliveries of the Rosa-RB radars to the Radio-Technical Troops are planned.
Preparations for the military parade to take place on July 3 have started. More than 6000 servicemen and about 250 pieces of military equipment gathered from military units all over Belarus will take part in the parade.
Combat training
The Belarusian military started preparations for the military parade dedicated to Independence Day. More than 6000 servicemen and about 250 pieces of military equipment will take part in the parade.
Trainings on repelling an attack on military town facilities are constantly conducted in the 11th Mechanized Brigade. During one of these trainings, a UAV crew practiced dropping anti-vehicle “hedgehogs” (sharp steel pins connected in a star-shaped way) to stop intruders’ vehicles and further detain them.
A training session on improving the skills of searching for and neutralizing explosive objects for servicemen of the Western Operational Command is being held on the basis of the Anti-Mine Center of the Belarusian Armed Forces. The personnel will study the structure, purpose and procedure of installation, as well as the neutralization and destruction of anti-tank and anti-personnel mines. Also, during the training session, servicemen will study the techniques of working with a mine detector. Methods of searching for and neutralizing mines, traps and improvised explosive devices used during combat operations in Ukraine will be considered separately.
A training session for armored personnel carrier drivers is being held in the 6th Mechanized Brigade. The training session is conducted with servicemen holding a category “C” driver’s license.
International cooperation
On May 15, Belarusian Defense Minister Viktar Khrenin had telephone negotiations with the new Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov. The parties discussed the current state of the bilateral relations. The Russian Defense Minister emphasized the special relationship between the armed forces of the two states.
On May 16, Valery Revenko, the Head of the Department of International Military Cooperation, had an accreditation meeting with the Military Attache at the Iranian Embassy in Russia and Belarus (part-time). The parties discussed the status and prospects of bilateral military cooperation, as well as exchanged views on international and regional security issues. Accreditation of a military diplomat from Iran took place for the first time since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the countries.
Military commissariats and territorial defense
On May 15, a training session with conscripts drafted from the reserve began at the 815th Technical Support Center of the Western Operational Command. A total of 19 reservists were drafted to the training session.
A training session with conscripts is being held on the basis of the 6th Mechanized Brigade. In total, 15 reservists were drafted to the training session.
On May 15, military commissariats of Brest region sent at least 44 reservists to a military training session. During the training session, the conscripts, who haven’t completed their military service, will undergo initial military training and receive a military specialty. All conscripts arrived in time, and the sending to the training session was carried out without any disruptions.
On May 16-June 7, a training session with conscripts of the territorial troops will be held under the leadership of the chairman of the Rechytsa District Executive Committee. During the training session, the following activities are planned: reception of conscripts of the territorial troops and their comprehensive support using the resources of the local base of mobilization expansion, restoration of the commanders’ skills in managing their subordinates, training of conscripts to perform tasks, working out the issues of formation, training and use of the national home guard. In total, about 100 reservists and several pieces of equipment were drafted.
On May 17, the annual training session “Military security and defense of the state” was held in Mahiliou under the leadership of the Minister of Defense. The participants were chairmen of regional and Minsk city executive committees and representatives of military commissariats. During the event, the participants got acquainted with the procedure for the use of drones and the fight against them, saw the practical actions of the national home guard, the protection of the airport by the territorial defense forces, and got acquainted with the samples of construction equipment used to prepare settlements for defense. We should note that the military had been rehearsing the episode of airport protection for several days.
Internal Troops
The systematic training of the Grom special forces detachment on the formation of the unit into an even more cohesive and combat-ready team continues. During the intensive trainings under the leadership of PMC Wagner mercenaries, the servicemen improved their skills in providing self and mutual aid, as well as practiced tactical tasks in a wooded area.
On May 18, the battalion and company commanders’ training course “Management of a unit during combat operations” under the guidance of experienced instructors was completed. During the course, participants learned small group operations, tactics in wooded areas and settlements, as well as how to organize management, active defense and rear area operations during a combat mission. In addition, they learned secure communications, artillery communications and UAV control.
Rearmament
By the end of 2024, the 49th Radio-Technical Brigade is to receive new Rosa-RB low-altitude target detection radars. The complex is designed for automatic detection and tracking of low-altitude airborne objects. The developer and manufacturer of the complex is KB Radar OJSC. In 2020, Rosa-RB was put into service and began to be delivered to the troops.
The artillery units of the Special Operations Forces received Grad MLRS. The reason for the transfer of Grad systems to the troops could be the following: 1) increasing the firing capabilities of artillery units; 2) the experience of the war in Ukraine, where Grad MLRS showed their effectiveness.
Other
Mikhail Matrosov was appointed deputy commander of the Belarusian Air Force and Air Defense Forces. Dzmitry Mikholap, who previously held this position, was appointed head of the faculty of the General Staff of the Armed Forces – deputy head of the Military Academy.
On May 18, more than a thousand new recruits drafted into the military units of the border guard bodies took the military oath.
The Community of Railway Workers of Belarus received information that the Belarusian Railway is preparing to receive military cargo trains with military equipment, ammunition and personnel of the Russian Armed Forces. Among other things, troops may be sent to Belarus from the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine. The following versions can be suggested as to what the transfer of the Russian troops to Belarus may be connected with:
1) Preparations for the drills of the “regional group of troops” of Belarus and Russia, which are planned for 2025.
2) Military training of mobilized Russian citizens at training grounds in Belarus (as it already happened in 2022-2023).
3) Preparations for a new invasion of Ukraine from the territory of Belarus (as it already happened in February 2022).
For each of the scenarios given above, arguments can be given that indicate the possibility (impossibility) of its realization. Currently, no transfer of the Russian troops to Belarus has been recorded.
Recently there has been an increase in exports of aviation fuel produced at the Mazyr oil refinery to Russian airports. The increase in supplies could be connected with:
1) The shortage of aviation fuel as a result of strikes on Russian refineries.
2) Formation of fuel reserves for intensive use of aviation in the near future.
