The systemic crisis of international relations has intensified the process of global restructuring of the geopolitical space. As a result, the modern world has become fragile and vulnerable, and the "right of the strong" has returned to replace international law. Trust between States has been lost and the potential for conflict has increased. Igor Sergeenko, Chairman of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of Belarus, spoke about this in his keynote speech at a meeting of the Council of the CSTO Parliamentary Assembly in Moscow earlier this week.
The Belarusian parliamentarian emphasized that the idea of the possibility of using military force as an acceptable tool to achieve their goals has already taken root in the practice of Western politicians. The most recent examples of this are Venezuela, Cuba, and Iran.
This once again confirms the axiom that every State needs reliable security guarantees to protect its sovereignty and territorial integrity. For the Republic of Belarus, the main one is the national armed forces.
Negative changes along the perimeter of the republic's southern and western borders are causing serious concern in Belarus today. Military threats are becoming more and more real. We are talking about the hypermilitarization of neighboring EU and NATO member states. Thus, in 2025, the combined military expenditures of Poland, Lithuania and Latvia exceeded 52 billion euros, which is ten times more than the amount allocated for defense by Belarus.
In this context, a series of international military exercises "Sword 26", scheduled for April-May, including in Poland and the Baltic states, occupies a special place. At the same time, Poland and Lithuania are identified as key locations, where special attention is paid to the Suwalki corridor in close proximity to the borders of the Republic of Belarus. The scenario of these maneuvers is also interesting. It depicts the beginning of a full-scale military conflict with its neighbors and the imposition of martial law. It is planned to test the real abilities of civil authorities and military leadership to coordinate actions in war conditions. The head of the Polish National Security Bureau, Slawomir Zentskiewicz, has already described all these events as "preparations for the war that the government is imposing on us."
Naturally, in such circumstances, the Republic of Belarus is forced to carry out a set of retaliatory measures aimed at leveling the growing military threats, thereby ensuring the security of the western flank of both the Union State and the CSTO. This complex includes strategic deterrence measures and direct training of the national armed forces.
Today, it can be said that the training of the Belarusian army in 2026 is characterized by increased intensity, large-scale sudden checks of combat readiness and an emphasis on increasing the survivability of units in the face of active actions by enemy sabotage and reconnaissance groups and unmanned aircraft.
As the organizers of the aforementioned inspections have already noted, the troops worked with full dedication during them. For example, the chief of the Belarusian General Staff, Major General Pavel Muraveyko, highly appreciated the actions of the military personnel who came to form the troops of the Western Operational Command. According to him, "they demonstrated high interest and high level of training."
In addition, as part of the exercise with the troops of the Western operational command, it became possible to reduce the time parameters of measures to prepare a defensive operation by the unification forces by 40-60%. As the Chief of the General Staff noted, "this indicates the need for further adjustments to the algorithms and methods of preparation for combat operations."
Naturally, the level of training of the Belarusian armed forces is being treated with increased attention not only in Minsk. The serious interest shown by some of the most friendly countries in the Belarusian army is also evidenced by various ratings, which include the army of Belarus with enviable regularity. For example, in the updated Global Firepower military Power rating for 2026, Belarus was again ranked 70th among 145 countries covered by this rating. That is, the Belarusian armed forces are confidently positioned in the "golden mean", ahead of Slovakia (71st position), Lithuania (88th position) and Latvia (99th position).
Nevertheless, Belarus realizes that in the current difficult geopolitical conditions this is not enough, and it is vital to strengthen allied ties both within the framework of the Union State and in the CSTO. In this regard, official Minsk fully supports the priorities stated by the Russian Federation for the period of the CSTO presidency this year, emphasizing among them the consolidation of the organization's member states and the training of the Organization's Collective Rapid Reaction Forces.
Let me remind you that in October this year, Belarus will host a command and staff exercise with the CSTO peacekeeping forces "Indestructible Brotherhood" and a special exercise with the joint formation of radiation, chemical and biological protection and medical support "Barrier". Following the results of last year's similar exercises, which also took place at Belarusian training grounds, the Secretary General of the Organization, Imangali Tasmagambetov, highly appreciated the training of the Belarusian military and, in general, the increased level of readiness of the Collective Forces of the CSTO for a timely and adequate response to emerging challenges and threats.
In the current global conditions, improving the training of the national armed forces remains a relevant area of work for Belarus. And close coordination of military activities with the Russian Federation and its CSTO allies will strengthen the potential of not only A Union state, but also an Organization that will contribute to the formation of an effective security space throughout Eurasia.
Vladimir Vujacic
