Military activity on the territory of Belarus on December 25-31
Aviation activity, movements of the troops by rail and roads in Belarus
During the week, active movements of convoys of military equipment of the Belarusian Armed Forces were recorded, as well as works at Machulishchy airfield.
Aviation activity
- Aviation activity was recorded at Machulishchy, Lida, Baranavichy, Luninets, and Barautsy airfields. Flights of aircraft and helicopters of the Belarusian Air Force, Russian Aerospace Forces and Rosgvardiya were recorded.
- On December 26, a Tu-154 passenger aircraft of Rosgvardiya (RF-85135) arrived at Minsk National Airport from Moscow. On December 27, the aircraft flew back to Moscow. It had brought Rosgvardiya’s delegation, which arrived on a visit to Belarus.
- On December 26-27, flights of an An-26KPA aircraft of the Russian Aerospace Forces were conducted at Machulishchy airfield. On December 29, the aircraft flew to Voronezh (Russia).
- On December 26, two Mi-8 helicopters of the Belarusian Air Force arrived at Luninets airfield from Machulishchy airfield. On December 28, the helicopters returned to Machulishchy airfield.
- On December 27, flights of fighters of the Russian Aerospace Forces were conducted at Baranavichy airfield.
- On December 27, a flight of a Mi-8 helicopter of the Belarusian Air Force along Belarus’ northern border was recorded.
Rail activity
- No rail activity was recorded.
Movements by road
- No large convoys with military vehicles of the Russian Armed Forces were recorded. Single vehicles and small convoys were spotted in Mazyr.
- No movements of PMC Wagner vehicles were recorded.
- Large convoys with equipment and single vehicles of the Belarusian Armed Forces spotted recorded in Mazyr, Baranavichy, Hrodna, Minsk, Slonim, Brest, Slutsk, Babruisk, and on some sections of the М5, М6, М9, М14, R115, N274, N429 and other highways.
Changes in the size of the Russian Armed Forces group and PMC Wagner in Belarus: no data.
General conclusion
1) Last week, there was an increase in the intensity of movements of convoys with equipment of the Belarusian Armed Forces. This is connected with the completion of additional training of drivers from among the new recruits of the fall conscription. The final element of driver training is a 50-kilometer march in a convoy. These training convoys were observed in large numbers during the week.
Due to New Year’s celebrations, there was no other significant military activity.
2) During the week, flights of the An-26KPA airfield corrector of the Russian Aerospace Forces were conducted at Machulishchy airfield. This is a special laboratory aircraft that inspects the operation of ground-based radio-technical flight support equipment, aviation electronic communications and light-signaling equipment systems.
Such inspections are conducted regularly to ensure flight safety. According to open sources, scheduled inspections of airfield radio technical systems are carried out once or twice a year. The inspections are conducted with the involvement of Russian aircraft. For example, in July 2021, it was reported that the An-26KPA of the Russian Aerospace Forces were flying at Machulishchy airfield.
According to our information, the An-26KPA of the Russian Aerospace Forces was in Belarus from November 28 to December 29, 2023. In addition to Machulishchy airfield, the aircraft also inspected the operation of radio technical equipment at Lida and Baranavichy airfields. Thus, all airfields of the main base of the Belarusian Air Force were inspected.
We should note that the Belarusian Air Force also has the An-26KPA aircraft (EW-009DD). The aircraft is most often used as an airborne signal repeater.