Moscow. January 24. INTERFAX - Units from the Amur Region have been sent to Belarus for exercises, where they will have to perform training tasks at unfamiliar training grounds.
"Echelons with weapons and military equipment continue to redeploy troops of the Eastern Military District to the territory of the Republic of Belarus. As part of the ongoing activities, logistics units have completed loading onto platforms in the Amur Region and have begun to march by rail," the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation said in a statement.
It notes that "the servicemen involved in the verification of the reaction forces of the Union State will have to perform a number of training tasks at unfamiliar training grounds of the Republic of Belarus."
As Interfax reported, Russia and Belarus are checking the reaction forces of the Union State. According to the Deputy Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation Alexander Fomin, at the first stage - until February 9 - it is planned to redeploy and create groups of troops. At the second stage - from February 10 to 20 - the joint exercises "Allied Determination-2022" will be held. The number of participants in the maneuvers was not called.
Almost all the Armed Forces of Belarus, as well as parts of the Eastern Military District, the Aerospace Forces (VKS) and the Airborne Troops (Airborne Forces) of Russia will be involved in the exercises, head of the main directorate of combat training of the Belarusian army Andrei Nekrasevich said on January 21.
According to the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, "the number of military personnel and equipment involved in the exercises that fall under the Vienna Document of 2011 does not exceed the parameters defined by it, which are subject to notification."
On January 22, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation announced the beginning of relocation to Belarus for exercises of Su-35 fighters. According to official data of the military department, the flight should be carried out by 12 Su-35.
On January 21, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation announced the beginning of the transfer of two divisions of long-range S-400 Triumph air defense systems to Belarus by rail. Upon arrival, they will take up combat training duty as part of the unified regional air defense system of Russia and Belarus.
Earlier, the Russian Defense Ministry announced plans to send a division of short-range air defense systems "Pantsir-S" to the exercises.
The Russian military also reported on the transfer of units and subunits of the Eastern Military District with regular weapons and equipment to Belarus.
On January 19, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation showed video footage of the arrival of the first units of the Eastern Military District in Belarus. The video showed a Russian railway echelon with automotive equipment, as well as armored vehicles, in particular, armored personnel carriers and infantry fighting vehicles, and military personnel with stripes of a motorized rifle brigade from Transbaikalia.
Joint military maneuvers of Russia and Belarus should not cause any concern, including in the context of the situation around Ukraine, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said on January 19.
"We have a Union state with Belarus, we have relevant plans, these plans must be implemented. Various kinds of events are held, among these events there are sudden inspections, and much more," Ryabkov said.
On September 10-15, 2021, Russia and Belarus held strategic exercises "West-2021", in which about 200 thousand military personnel were involved.
Against the background of the Russian-Belarusian exercises, on January 20, the Russian Defense Ministry announced the beginning of a series of maneuvers of the Russian Navy with the participation of more than 140 ships and vessels, over 10 thousand military.
The exercises of the Russian Navy will cover the waters of the seas adjacent to the Russian territory, as well as operationally important areas of the World Ocean, the military said. Separate exercises will be held in the waters of the Mediterranean, Northern, Okhotsk Seas, in the northeastern part of the Atlantic Ocean and in the Pacific Ocean, the Defense Ministry said.
All the exercises are taking place against the background of the crisis in relations between Russia and NATO.
The United States, other NATO countries and Ukraine announced the concentration of Russian troops near the Ukrainian border and the threat of a Russian invasion.