Combat training, activities of the Internal Troops and territorial defense.
A working meeting of Belarusian and Russian Defense Ministers Viktar Khrenin and Andrei Belousov took place in Minsk. The parties discussed topical issues of bilateral military and military-technical cooperation.
Combat training activities included command-staff drills with command and logistics units, as well as an inspection of the battalion tactical group of the 6th Mechanized Brigade.
Pavel Muraveika was appointed the new Chief of the General Staff of the Belarusian Armed Forces. The Ministry of Defense started purchasing the Berkut-3 UAVs produced in Belarus.
Combat training
On May 20, the battalion tactical group of the 6th Mechanized Brigade was brought to readiness to perform its assigned tasks. It is based on the 78th Separate Mechanized Battalion with attached units (tank company, mortar and rocket artillery platoons, etc.). The personnel with standard weapons moved to the assigned area, where they practiced defensive actions to cover the main road directions.
On May 21-23, command-staff drills were held under the leadership of the head of logistics of the Belarusian Armed Forces with military administration bodies and military logistics units. During the drills, the issues of managing the logistics support of troops, dispersing supplies, providing medical assistance to the wounded and sick at all stages of evacuation, and implementing measures to improve the survivability of facilities of military units and rear organizations were worked out. New forms and methods were tested for the transportation of materiel, dispersal and concealment of its delivery to the troops. Civilian healthcare facilities were involved in the drills. More than 100 reservists were drafted to take part in the drills.
A training session was held with radio and satellite communication specialists of the Belarusian Armed Forces on the basis of the 86th Signal Brigade. During it, the servicemen learned new techniques and methods of working with communication equipment.
A training session with officials of the navigation and topographic service of the Belarusian Armed Forces and navigation and topographic military units was held at the 38th Air Assault Brigade. The participants of the training session got acquainted with modern methods and techniques of topographic, geodetic and navigational support of combat operations, as well as with new models of equipment.
To fulfill the orders of the Chief of the General Staff of the Belarusian Armed Forces on the improvement of topographic training, a session on topographic training was held in the 74th Signal Regiment under the leadership of the head of the 117th Navigation and Topographic Unit with the heads of field communication units, battalion, company and platoon commanders.
A methodological training session with the heads of personnel bodies of the Belarusian Armed Forces took place in Homiel under the leadership of the head of the main personnel department of the Ministry of Defense of Belarus. The purpose of the training session was to improve the methods and procedures for officials in the organization and conduct of personnel work, work with reserve officers, and records of personnel during the practical performance of their official duties.
International cooperation
On May 20, Defense Minister Viktar Khrenin met with Turkish Ambassador to Belarus Güçlü Cem Işık. The parties exchanged views on issues of mutual interest and discussed prospects for cooperation between the countries in the military sphere.
Defense attaches from 6 Arab states visited the Ministry of Defense of Belarus within the framework of expanding international contacts. During their stay in Belarus, the military diplomats visited military educational institutions and the Minsk Tractor Plant. On May 21, the head of the Department of International Military Cooperation held a briefing for the attaches.
On May 22, Minister of Defense of Equatorial Guinea Victoriano Bibang Nsueh Okomo began his official visit to Belarus. The visit included negotiations with the Minister of Defense of Belarus, during which the prospects for military cooperation between the countries were discussed. During the visit, the delegation of Equatorial Guinea visited the Military Academy and got acquainted with the training of units of the Special Operations Forces of the Belarusian Armed Forces.
On May 23, a representative of the Department of International Military Cooperation held an accreditation meeting with the Egyptian Defense Attache to Russia and Belarus (part-time) Ahmed Mohamed Abdelaziz Aboelnaga. The sides noted the positive dynamics in the implementation of joint activities in the defense sector. They emphasized the significant progress in cooperation in the field of military education and expressed confidence in the prospects of this area.
On May 23-24, a working meeting of the heads of the communications management bodies of the defense agencies of the CSTO member states took place at the CSTO Joint Headquarters. During the meeting, topical issues regarding the development of the CSTO’s communications system were considered, the results of the activities for the reporting period were summarized, and directions for joint work in 2024-2025 were determined.
On May 23, Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov paid a visit to Belarus. During the visit, he had a working meeting with the Belarusian Defense Minister. The parties discussed topical issues of bilateral military and military-technical cooperation. Defense Minister Viktar Khrenin said that the meeting was another confirmation of the strategic partnership between Belarus and Russia. According to Belousov, additional measures should be taken to ensure the security of the so-called “Union State.”
On May 24, a coordination meeting of specialists of defense agencies of the CIS member states responsible for information security issues was held in Minsk. The meeting was chaired by Belarus. Based on the results of the joint work, common approaches to ensuring information security of the armed forces were developed, and proposals for the development of military cooperation were prepared.
Military commissariats and territorial defense
On May 18, officers of military commissariats of Brest region were trained in Ivanava on the procedure of work of the preliminary collection point for conscripts. During the training, the work in the districts of the region was analyzed and problematic issues arising during the work were discussed.
On May 21, a military training session began in the 11th Mechanized Brigade with conscripts drafted from the reserve. A total of 15 reservists were drafted to the training session.
On May 21, the military commissariat of Horki and Drybin districts sent 11 conscripts to a military training session.
A military training session with reservists is being held in the 74th Signal Regiment. A total of 15 reservists were drafted to the training session.
On May 22, a training with reserve officers assigned to the territorial troops was held in the military commissariat of Brest, Brest district, and Stolin district.
A military training session with conscripts drafted from the reserve has been completed in the 65th Vehicle Brigade. They took part in command-staff drills with military administration bodies and military logistics units. A total of at least 35 reservists were drafted to the training session.
Internal Troops
As part of the training session on combat coordination of the Grom special forces detachment, firearms exercises were held. The unit also practiced storming and clearing trenches. On May 24, it was reported about the completion of a three-week combat coordination of the detachment under the leadership of PMC Wagner mercenaries. The Grom detachment became the first special forces unit of the Internal Troops, which immediately after its opening passed the combat coordination course in full strength.
Training of soldiers of the new addition to the 2nd Militia Brigade is conducted under the leadership of PMC Wagner mercenaries.
On May 22-23, a comprehensive inspection of the readiness of the 4th Militia Brigade of the Internal Troops to perform combat tasks took place under the leadership of the State Secretariat of the Security Council of Belarus. Servicemen of the brigade’s units showed the level of combat training, performing firing exercises from all types of weapons in service, physical training and hand-to-hand combat, tactical medicine and the use of drones. The readiness of military equipment to perform its assigned tasks was also inspected.
Rearmament
The artillery units of the Western Operational Command received new Grad MLRS rockets. The new projectiles have improved characteristics and are capable of hitting targets at a range of up to 40 kilometers.
The commander of the 111th Artillery Brigade described plans to rearm the unit. The brigade is expected to receive modernized Uragan MLRS and 2S5 Giatsint-S self-propelled guns, as well as Polonez MLRS. In addition, it is planned to equip each artillery platoon with a drone and to install standard electronic warfare equipment on artillery systems to counter FPV drones.
A group of 10 servicemen were trained to drive the MZKT-7930 chassis for the needs of the 336th Rocket Artillery Brigade of the Belarusian Armed Forces. This may be related to the preparation for the transfer of another divizion of the V-200 Polonez/V-300 Polonez-M MLRS to the Belarusian Armed Forces.
On May 24, the Ministry of Defense of Belarus published a tender for the purchase of one set of the “Berkut-3 short-range tactical reconnaissance unmanned aerial system.” A total of 10 sets of the UAV are planned to be purchased in 2024. The procurement (so far) of one set may be an “installation batch” delivered for the initial phase of operation. Or for other reasons – for example, budget restrictions, lack of established small-scale production, etc.
Other
On May 11, more than 1000 recruits drafted in spring 2024 for compulsory service in the Internal Troops took the military oath. The number of recruits drafted during the spring-2024 conscription is comparable to the spring conscriptions of previous years. About 1000 people were drafted to serve in the Internal Troops during the spring conscriptions of 2018, 2020, and 2023. At the same time, a record conscription of conscripts (over 2000 people) took place in fall 2023.
On May 21, a military council was held in the Western Operational Command. The council addressed issues related to ensuring the security of military service, improving the infrastructure of military towns and other issues of daily activities.
On May 21, Belaeronavigatsia published NOTAMN O0273/24, which officially confirms the presence of interference of global positioning system signals throughout the Minsk flight information zone (i.e., the entire airspace over the territory of Belarus). The warning is issued for the next three months and may be extended in the future. GPS interference in Belarus has been recorded since 2022.
On May 23, Pavel Muraveika was appointed the new Chief of the General Staff of the Belarusian Armed Forces. His predecessor, Viktar Hulevich, was dismissed on May 10. Muraveika previously served as first deputy of the State Secretariat of the Security Council. The official is known for a number of scandalous statements. For example, in October 2023, he claimed the right of Belarus to “cut a vital corridor” through Lithuania with the help of weapons to gain access to the transit of goods.
On May 25, new recruits to the Belarusian Armed Forces took the military oath. At the oath-taking ceremony, Defense Minister Viktar Khrenin announced a radical revision of troop training, with a greater emphasis on practical training and less drill.
