Moscow. January 6th. INTERFAX - The total number of Russian military personnel in the peacekeeping contingent of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) There will be less than 5 thousand people in Kazakhstan, the Vedomosti newspaper reported on Thursday, citing a source close to the Russian Defense Ministry.
"The total number of Russian troops will not exceed 5,000 people, these will be, in particular, units of the 31st Guards separate airborne Assault Brigade (Ulyanovsk) and the 98th Guards Airborne Division (Ivanovo), which are part of the collective rapid reaction forces of the CSTO," the publication reported.
On Thursday morning, the CSTO secretariat announced the dispatch of a peacekeeping contingent to Kazakhstan.
"From the Russian Federation, the Collective Peacekeeping Forces of the CSTO included units and military units of Airborne troops," the CSTO reported.
On Thursday evening, the Russian Defense Ministry announced the arrival of the first units of Russian peacekeepers in Kazakhstan.
"Military transport aircraft delivered the first units from the main forces of the Russian contingent of the CSTO peacekeeping forces to the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan," the ministry said.
The Russian Defense Ministry said that the Russian peacekeeping contingent is being transferred to Kazakhstan with standard equipment.
"Units of the 45th separate special purpose brigade of the Airborne Forces marched from the point of permanent deployment to the Chkalovsky loading airfield, the Ivanovo Airborne unit - to the Ivanovo-Severny airfield, the Ulyanovsk airborne unit - to the Ulyanovsk-Vostochny airfield, where loading is carried out on military transport aircraft," the Defense Ministry reported.
The situation in Kazakhstan worsened on January 2, when rallies against a sharp increase in prices for liquefied gas began in Zhanaozen (a city in the Mangystau region, in the west of the country). Then they escalated into mass protests across the country with economic and political demands. On January 4 and 5, protesters clashed with security forces in Almaty. There are dead and injured. On the morning of January 5, the President of Kazakhstan dismissed the government. A state of emergency has been introduced in the country.
On Wednesday, the President of Kazakhstan said that he appealed to the leaders of the CSTO countries for help in overcoming the terrorist threat in the country.
On Thursday, the CSTO press service reported that the CSTO Council decided to send peacekeeping forces to Kazakhstan.
