The number of military and special equipment involved in joint exercises has doubled.
In total, more than 2.5 thousand servicemen will be involved in the exercise from the Russian Federation, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan
Ekaterinburg. August 2. INTERFAX-The Central Military District (CVO) has increased the number of Russian military contingent in a joint exercise with Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, which will be held on August 5-10 near the border with Afghanistan, the press service of the CVO reported on Monday.
"The number of personnel has been increased to 1.8 thousand military personnel, and the number of military and special equipment involved in joint exercises has doubled to 420 units. The buildup of forces and means was carried out at the expense of artillery, tank, motorized rifle and reconnaissance units of the 201st military base," the report says.
The corresponding decision was made by the commander of the Central Military District, Alexander Lapin. In total, more than 2.5 thousand military personnel and about 500 units of weapons and military equipment will be involved in the exercise from the three countries, the Central Military District specifies.
Earlier it was reported that more than 1.5 thousand servicemen, including about 1 thousand Russian ones, will take part in the exercises of Russia, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan near the border with Afghanistan - in the Khatlon region of Tajikistan - and about 300 units of weapons and military equipment will also be involved.
During the exercise, the military, according to the commander of the Central Military District Alexander Lapin, will work out preparations for conducting combat operations by a joint group of troops to defeat detachments of illegal armed formations that have invaded the territory of the union state. The basis of the Russian contingent at the exercise will be the units of the 201st military base (part of the Central Military District).
The exercise will be held in three stages. At the first stage, the military will work out preparations for a joint operation of the united group of troops (forces) The armed forces of the three countries to destroy terrorist gangs. At the second stage, they will perform tasks to destroy conditional gang groups that have invaded the territory of the union state, at the final stage - the destruction of radical terrorist groups when crossing the state border, the press service of the Central Military District specified.
The exercises will take place against the background of the aggravation of the situation in Afghanistan.
The United States and its allies must withdraw their troops from Afghanistan by September 11 this year. The withdrawal of troops takes place against the background of the activation of the Taliban movement in Afghanistan (a terrorist organization banned in the Russian Federation). Since May, the Taliban have been conducting a large-scale offensive and pushing back government forces.
According to media reports, the Taliban control more than 100 districts of Afghanistan.
After the collapse of the USSR, the Tajik-Afghan border was guarded by Russian border guards. In 2005, the border protection was completely transferred to the jurisdiction of the State Border Protection Committee of Tajikistan, Russian border guards were withdrawn from Tajikistan. The border department of the FSB of the Russian Federation in Tajikistan was transformed into an operational border group without a military component.
The 201st Russian military base operates in Tajikistan. This is the largest military facility in Russia (part of the Central Military District) outside of its borders. It is located in two cities - Dushanbe and Bokhtar. The base consists of motorized rifle, tank, artillery, reconnaissance units, air defense units, RCBZ and communications.
On July 21, it became known about the decision of the Russian military to strengthen the military base in Tajikistan with new armored vehicles.
"By the end of July this year, motorized rifle units of the 201st military base will receive 17 modern infantry fighting vehicles BMP-2, which will significantly increase their combat capabilities when performing tasks in any situation," said Alexander Lapin, commander of the Central Military District.
On July 24, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and the head of the Tajik military department Sherali Mirzo discussed joint measures to neutralize threats due to the aggravation of the situation in Afghanistan during telephone talks.
"During the talks, the parties discussed the situation in the Tajik-Afghan border area and joint measures to neutralize the threats associated with the aggravation of the situation in the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan," the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement.
It was also reported that from July 30 to August 10, Russia and Uzbekistan will hold joint exercises, they will be held at the Termez training ground - in the area bordering Afghanistan. About 1.5 thousand servicemen of the armed forces of Russia and Uzbekistan will take part in them, about 200 units of military equipment will also be involved, in particular, a flight of Su-25SM attack aircraft from the Russian Kant air base in Kyrgyzstan, which is an aviation component of the Collective Rapid Reaction Forces of the Collective Security Treaty Organization and participates in ensuring the security of the airspace.
