The CSTO "Combat Brotherhood — 2023" exercises have officially started in Belarus
BREST, 1 Sep — RIA Novosti. Military exercises of the contingents of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) "Combat Brotherhood — 2023" officially launched on the territory of Belarus, the maneuvers will last until September 6, RIA Novosti correspondent reports.
Minsk in 2023 chairs the CSTO, which includes six states: Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan. All countries, except Armenia, have sent their military to the republic.
On Friday, the opening ceremony of the exercises took place on the ceremonial square of the Brest Hero Fortress memorial complex. Seven flagpoles were installed in front of the military formation, next to the Eternal Flame of the memorial complex, on which the flags of the Collective Security Treaty Organization and the participating countries of the organization are fixed.
The event was attended by Secretary General of the organization Imangali Tasmagambetov, Chief of the CSTO Joint Staff Anatoly Sidorov, Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Belarus Viktor Gulevich, First Deputy Secretary of State of the Security Council of Belarus Pavel Muraveyko, Chairman of the Brest Regional Executive Committee Yuri Shuleyko.
The participants of the ceremony paid tribute to the soldiers who died defending the Brest Fortress in the Great Patriotic War, honoring their memory with a minute of silence and laying flowers at the Eternal Flame.
In total, several exercises are held on the territory of the republic at once. So, in addition to the main operational and strategic maneuvers, the program specifies special activities for intelligence, medics and RCB protection units.
The military will be located at the training grounds and terrain areas of the Brest, Grodno and Minsk regions of the republic.
The exercises "Combat Brotherhood — 2023" are held in accordance with the plan of joint training of management bodies and formations of forces and means of the collective security system of the CSTO for 2023. They involve military contingents, operational groups, police (militia) forces, units of the ministries of Emergency Situations of the CSTO states, operational groups of the joint staff and secretariat of the CSTO, units of the State Border Committee of Belarus.
In total, more than 2,500 military personnel and over 500 units of weapons, military and special equipment are involved. The Minister of Defense of the host country Viktor Khrenin noted earlier that the main contingent is from the Belarusian armed forces, and there are few military arrivals from other countries. The exercises themselves, according to him, are more of a staff nature.
