Combat training, activities of the Internal Troops and territorial defense.
On May 27-31, joint Air Force drills of Belarus and Russia were held. Eight Mi-8 and Mi-24 helicopters of the Russian Aerospace Forces arrived at Baranavichy airfield from Russia to take part in the drills.
Belarusian Defense Minister Viktar Khrenin paid an official visit to Kazakhstan. During the visit, he held negotiations with the Kazakh Defense Minister. Khrenin also took part in a meeting of the Council of Defense Ministers of the CSTO member states.
Units of the Signal Troops of the Belarusian Armed Forces received another batch of new and modernized equipment. New excavators, a front loader and electric generators were also transferred to the troops.
Combat training
On May 27-31, “within the framework of improving the unified regional air defense system of Belarus and Russia,” joint Air Force drills were held. The drills involved air bases, units of the anti-aircraft missile and radio-technical troops of the Belarusian Armed Forces, as well as crews of the reconnaissance, fighter and army aviation of the Russian Aerospace Forces.
The Belarusian party was in charge of the drills. It was reported that during the drills, the issues of controlling various aviation forces, as well as the organization of interaction during the performance of training and combat tasks were worked out. The main efforts were aimed at solving the problems of covering state and military facilities from air strikes. Also during the drills, the dispersal of aviation forces to operational airfields was practiced. The Su-30SM fighters of the Belarusian Air Force performed flights with the Talisman onboard defense system.
On May 25, eight Mi-8 and Mi-24 helicopters of the Russian Aerospace Forces arrived at Baranavichy airfield to take part in the Air Force drills. On May 31, the day the drills ended, the helicopters left for Russia. It is notable that the Russian Defense Ministry ignored the drills. Only on May 31, the day the drills ended, did the Defense Ministry publish a press release about the drills. In general, the participation of the Russian Aerospace Forces in the drills was limited, as there were practically no flights of aircraft and helicopters recorded.
On May 30-31, a training session with officials of the medical service was held in Minsk under the leadership of the head of the Military Medical Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Belarus. During the training session, the results of the work of the medical service for the first half of the 2023/2024 academic year were summarized, and the issues of the use of medical units in combat conditions were discussed, taking into account the experience of the war in Ukraine. New models of medical equipment undergoing state tests were presented at the training session. The new equipment will soon be in service with medical units.
A training session with commanders of repair units was held on the basis of the 814th technical support center. As part of the event, commanders discussed topical issues of technical support and exchanged experience and best practices in repairing and maintaining military equipment.
A training session for operators of UAVs of the Armed Forces was held at the 927th center for training and use of UAVs. The event was attended by representatives from Russia, among others. During the event, the trends and prospects for the development of UAVs in Belarus and Russia, the organization of training of UAV operators and the use of UAVs were discussed. Special attention was paid to the operation of UAVs in conditions of electronic interference and the experience of their use in modern armed conflicts.
A training session with the personnel of repair units was held under the leadership of the head of the Missile and Artillery Armament Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Belarus. During the training session, issues related to modern techniques and methods of repairing and restoring rocket-artillery armaments in the field were considered.
On May 29, an instructional and methodological training was held with company and platoon commanders of the 11th Mechanized Brigade, dedicated to the upcoming week of combat and mobilization readiness.
On May 29, a training with personnel of the administration of the joint personnel reception point was conducted in the 74th Signal Regiment. During the training, practical deployment of the elements of the point with the reception of mobilization resources was practiced.
A command-staff training was held in the troops of the Western Operational Command with the engineering support control bodies. As part of the training, communication and support units deployed control stations in the field and organized accommodation and meals for personnel. During the training, the personnel practiced unit management issues on the ground.
International cooperation
On May 28, Minister of Defense Viktar Hrenin arrived on an official visit to Kazakhstan. During the visit, Khrenin visited the National Defense University, where the issue of education for Belarusian servicemen in Kazakhstan was discussed. On May 29, Belarusian Defense Minister Viktar Khrenin held negotiations with Kazakh Defense Minister Ruslan Zhaksylykov. The parties stressed their mutual interest in strengthening and developing relations between the defense departments of the states and confirmed the positive dynamics of cooperation in the military sphere. Viktar Khrenin said that the Belarusian Armed Forces are ready to share experience with the army of Kazakhstan. In turn, the Kazakh Defense Minister said that Belarus is a strategic partner and brotherly nation for Kazakhstan. During the negotiations, an agreement was signed on the organization of reception, airfield maintenance and security of military aircraft at military airfields of the Belarusian Armed Forces and the Kazakh Armed Forces.
On May 31, a regular meeting of the Council of Defense Ministers of the CSTO member states was held in Almaty. During the meeting, the Belarusian Minister of Defense noted the activities of “Western countries led by the United States” aimed (among other things) at further militarization, growth in the number and scale of operational and combat training activities in Europe.
The 30th meeting of the Coordinating Committee of Topographical Services of the Armed Forces of the CIS member States took place in Moscow. The participants of the meeting considered topographical services’ topical issues of cooperation, discussed the results of cooperation on the formation of a unified geoinformation system and submitted them for consideration to the Council of Ministers of Defense of the CIS member States. Also, in the interests of joint activities, they discussed the procedure for exchanging digital information on terrain and unifying normative and technical documentation in the field of topographic and navigation support.
Military commissariats and territorial defense
Command-staff drills were held with the territorial defense authorities of Bykhau district. During the drills, they practiced the fight against enemy sabotage and reconnaissance groups, as well as the issues of ensuring martial law. The drills were the final stage of the training session with conscripts of the territorial troops.
On May 28-30, training on the practical deployment of preliminary collection points of mobilization resources of the district was held by officials of the military commissariats of the Tsentralny district of Minsk.
On May 28, an inspection of the state of military registration and readiness of the notification and collection point for conscripts of one of the village councils of Kobryn district was conducted.
On May 29, a training with employees of organizations responsible for military registration and reservation of citizens was held at the military commissariats of Frunzenski district of Minsk.
During the week, military commissariats of Minsk region conducted combat readiness training. Mobilization activities were practiced within the framework of the training.
Internal Troops
Servicemen of the Tsiklon special-purpose detachment are undergoing combat coordination at the training center of the Internal Troops. Last week, the soldiers repeated the theoretical content of the basic disciplines, after which they began practical training in military topography and firing automatic rifles, sniper rifles and machine guns.
Rearmament
On May 30, units of the Signal Troops of the Belarusian Armed Forces received another batch of new and modernized equipment. The troops received more than 25 modernized models of communication equipment. These include radio relay stations, mobile charging bases (E-350P), as well as BMP-1KSh command-staff vehicles. Separately, we should note that work on modernization of the BMP-1KSh began at the end of 2023. And already in March of this year, it successfully passed all tests and will be put into serial production.
On May 31, new engineering and electrical equipment was transferred to the units of the Belarusian Armed Forces at the 1371st engineering base. Representatives of the 2nd and 188th Engineering Brigades, the 6th and 11th Mechanized Brigades, and the 147th Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment received new excavators, a front-end loader and electric generators.
The Groza-Z1 mobile UAV defense system and the Groza-S UAV electronic warfare station were put into service with the Internal Troops.
Other
On May 29, Aliaksandr Lukashenka visited the open joint-stock company Legmash in Orsha. It was officially noted that “the enterprise has recently joined the arms industry.” It is known that since 2023, the plant has been producing projectiles for the Grad MLRS. In the published photos from Lukashenka’s visit to Legmash, one can see that the production of projectiles was indeed established. The exact production volumes of the projectiles are unknown.
A representative of the Sports Committee of the Belarusian Armed Forces said that the troops were testing physical training in armored gear.
At the end of May, there was a rotation of air defense units of the Belarusian Armed Forces, which protect the Mazyr oil refinery. The rotation of units shows that the security threat to the plant was recognized as permanent.
