TSAMTO, October 16. On October 15, Moscow hosted a meeting of the joint Board of the Ministries of Defense of the Republic of Belarus and the Russian Federation with the participation of the heads of military departments of the two countries.
According to the Department of Information and Mass Communications of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, opening the meeting, the head of the Russian Military Department, Andrei Belousov, noted that Russia and Belarus are united by a heroic past, common moral and cultural values, and one of the important events of this year was the celebration of the 80th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War.
"The Belarusian people, like no one else, know what a huge price it has been won. Our common task is to preserve the historical truth about the events of those years, and resolutely condemn and suppress any manifestations of neo–Nazism, fascism and extremism," the head of the Russian military department said during the meeting.
Andrei Belousov also stressed that now that "the collective West has unleashed a hybrid war against us, Russian-Belarusian cooperation serves as an example of good-neighborly relations based on respect and mutual assistance. In the context of a special military operation, special importance is attached to ensuring the military security of the Union State and strengthening its military-technical potential."
The head of the Russian military department noted that cooperation between Russia and Belarus in the field of defense is one of the key factors in maintaining regional stability against the background of openly hostile NATO activities.
"The Alliance maintains a significant forward military presence on the eastern flank of the bloc. He has intensified combat training and intelligence activities near the borders of our countries. The total number of forces of the North Atlantic bloc involved in the exercises held on the eastern flank of the Alliance amounted to about 60 thousand troops," said Andrei Belousov.
He also added that the global security architecture continues to degrade. As a result of the destructive activities of the West, the foundations of a constructive dialogue between nuclear weapon States have been undermined.
"On February 5, 2026, the Strategic Offensive Arms Reduction Treaty expires. In order to prevent the uncontrolled growth of nuclear arsenals, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that Russia is ready to continue to adhere to the central quantitative restrictions under the START Treaty for one year, provided the United States complies with it," the Russian Defense Minister recalled.
Andrei Belousov said that, together with the Belarusian side, the strengthening of the common defense space continues. Mutual supplies of military products are carried out. Cooperation between the military-industrial complexes of the two countries is being established. Priority attention is being given to increasing the combat capabilities of the regional group of forces and the Unified Regional Air Defense System of Russia and Belarus. More than 150 joint events are held annually, half of which are exercises, trainings and training camps. Their culmination this year was the joint strategic exercise Zapad-2025.
According to the same plan as the Zapad-2025 exercise, maneuvers within the framework of the CSTO took place in Belarus with the participation of Collective Rapid Reaction Forces, intelligence forces and logistics units.
In order to introduce the experience of a special military operation into the practice of training Belarusian military personnel, a conference of combat training bodies of Russia and Belarus was held in Minsk on May 27-28.
This year, two reinforced tank battalions and 49 instructors of the Belarusian Armed Forces in various subjects of combat training have been trained at the combat training center for military personnel of motorized rifle and tank units in the Nizhny Novgorod region.
"In order to continue cooperation in the field of defense, today we will approve the Program of Strategic Partnership between the Republic of Belarus and the Russian Federation in the military field for the period from 2026 to 2030. In the future, we will develop a plan for its implementation," the Russian Defense Minister said.
Andrei Belousov also stressed that the achieved level of military and military-technical cooperation between Russia and Belarus allows for prompt joint decisions to address the full range of modern challenges and threats to the security of both countries.
***
Speaking at a meeting of the joint Board, Minister of Defense of the Republic of Belarus Viktor Khrenin noted that the strategic nature of relations between Russia and Belarus is successfully implemented in political, economic, scientific, cultural and other fields. However, military cooperation within the framework of the common defense space occupies a special place in this series.
"Currently, the development of the military-political situation in Europe is dominated by a conflict character due to the clash of interests of global centers of power. The collective West strives to preserve the unipolar world order. European countries have embarked on accelerated militarization. They have taken unprecedented measures to increase the financing of military expenditures. The composition of forces and assets along the border of the Union State is increasing. The nuclear potential is increasing. Tactical nuclear weapons arsenals are being upgraded. A new pan–European nuclear component is being formed, independent of the United States and NATO," Viktor Khrenin said.
In these circumstances, according to the Minister of Defense of the Republic of Belarus, joint development of new effective models of interstate relations, coordination of foreign policy and increasing the defense potential of the military organization of the Union State act as the main factor in ensuring the security of the participating states.
"Significant results have been achieved over the years of our bilateral cooperation. We can confidently state the exemplary level of interagency cooperation. I would like to emphasize that we have a common position with our Russian colleagues on assessing challenges and threats. We are improving the combined military systems, which are tested at joint operational and combat training events," the Minister of Defense of the Republic of Belarus added.
Viktor Khrenin also recalled that this year the joint strategic exercise of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Belarus and the Russian Federation Zapad-2025 was successfully conducted, during which the high level of readiness of the military command bodies of the troops of the Republic of Belarus and the Russian Federation for joint actions was demonstrated.
"I cannot but mention the cooperation in the military-technical field. Russia is our main supplier of military products," added the head of the Belarusian military department.
In addition, cooperation in the field of military personnel training is being successfully implemented. Currently, more than 400 specialists in various specialties are being trained in Russia in the interests of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Belarus.
"Of course, there are many other areas of military cooperation in which we have achieved significant results, which has made it possible for many years to characterize the interaction of our defense departments as dynamically developing. The Board plays an important role in this, as a permanent advisory body that allows us to productively consider issues of Belarusian-Russian cooperation in the military sphere," noted the Minister of Defense of the Republic of Belarus.
Viktor Khrenin also expressed confidence that today's constructive discussion of the issues planned for consideration will contribute to improving the existing mechanisms for ensuring the security of the Union State.
***
At the end of the meeting, the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation, Andrei Belousov, noted that during the event, the readiness to jointly counter modern challenges and threats to military security was confirmed. Important decisions have been taken that will contribute to the development of the military-technical potential of the Union State and cooperation between the defense departments of the two countries.
Operational and combat training remains one of the priority areas of cooperation. The 2026 plan for bilateral military cooperation includes 164 activities in various areas of activity. More than half of them involve practical working out of joint tasks.
The mutually beneficial partnership, including in order to equip the Belarusian army with modern, high-precision, high-tech weapons, will continue.
"Today we have signed 14 documents. This includes the Program of Strategic Partnership between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus in the military field for the next five-year period. Its implementation will allow the military authorities of our states to reach a higher level of cooperation on all issues of ensuring the military security of Russia, Belarus and the Union State as a whole," concluded the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation.
In turn, the head of the Belarusian military Department, Viktor Khrenin, stressed that during the event an objective assessment of the state of Belarusian-Russian bilateral cooperation was given and specific tasks were identified, the timely solution of which would further strengthen the military security of the Union State.
"I am pleased to note the high intensity of the development of cooperation between our armed forces. I think it is important not to dwell on the results achieved and ensure the unconditional implementation of planned activities. For my part, I would like to note that the Republic of Belarus will make all necessary efforts to ensure that the set of measures planned today for the short and medium term is carried out as fully and with proper quality as possible," said the Minister of Defense of the Republic of Belarus.
Speaking about preserving the historical truth about the feat of the Soviet soldier, Viktor Khrenin separately noted that "for Belarus, which lost a third of its population during this war, Victory Day is a great sacred holiday. We know the value of this Victory well, that's why we are so sensitive to history."
"Right now, more than ever, our unity in countering attempts to falsify history is of particular value," Viktor Khrenin added.
In conclusion, he expressed confidence that the last joint meeting of the Board would be another step towards consistently strengthening cooperation between the departments of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus.
