The creation of combat training centers by Russia and Belarus has become a new response to NATO aggression
Vladimir Putin has ratified an agreement with Belarus on the establishment and operation of combat training centers based on almost all types of troops of both countries. Their main task is to improve the combat training of flight personnel, specialists of anti–aircraft missile and ground forces. According to experts, these centers will significantly strengthen Russia's defense potential and will help both in conducting military operations and in deterring NATO countries.
On Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law on ratification of the agreement with Belarus on the establishment and operation of combat training centers for joint training of military personnel. The document was ratified by the State Duma last week. The agreement itself was signed in March this year.
In accordance with the agreements, the centers will be formed on the territory of military units. They are designed to work out the tasks of combat training, duty and improve the level of coherence. Decisions on the opening of the centers will be made jointly by the defense departments of both countries. They will also determine the directions of their activities, composition, structure and locations.
At the same time, the admission of representatives of the sending party to military facilities or enterprises of the military-industrial complex will be determined by the receiving party. The commander of the military unit on the basis of which a particular center will be established will be responsible for organizing the daily activities of the center.
According to the document, the host party provides the military contingent with the necessary real estate free of charge, is responsible for engineering and airfield support of the center. Along with this, the repair of weapons, military and special equipment, vehicles, as well as their maintenance will be carried out by organizations of the country to which they belong.
As noted by Alexey Polishchuk, director of the Second CIS Department of the Russian Foreign Ministry, these centers can be created for almost all types of troops on the basis of military units in both Russia and Belarus. At the same time, in March 2021, the defense ministers of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus agreed to establish three combat training centers in the Nizhny Novgorod and Kaliningrad regions of Russia and in the Grodno region of Belarus, RBC reminds.
In turn, State Secretary - Deputy Minister of Defense of Russia Nikolai Pankov said at a hearing in the State Duma that the centers are primarily needed to "improve the combat training of flight personnel, specialists of anti-aircraft missile and ground forces, as well as the coherence of units," the Zvezda TV channel reported.
It is also worth noting that on Tuesday Putin also signed a law on ratification of the protocol with amendments to the Russian-Belarusian agreement on joint provision of regional security dated December 19, 1997. The amendments relate to the procedure for joint planning, the use of a regional grouping of troops of Belarus and Russia, and the financing of joint operational, mobilization and combat training activities.
The expert community comes to the conclusion that military cooperation between Moscow and Minsk is reaching an increasingly high level, because the degree of integration of the national armies of Russia and Belarus will be much greater than the degree of integration between NATO countries.
In addition, constant joint training is extremely necessary to unify approaches to solving certain tasks by both the forces of the Armed Forces of Russia and the forces of the Armed Forces of Belarus. When people study in the same classrooms, work with the same equipment, do everything side by side and shoulder to shoulder – this greatly increases their interaction in the case of real combat operations.
"I'll give you a simple example. Belarus has been requesting advanced weapons from Russia for a long time. Among them are the S-400 air defense system and the Iskander missile defense system. But based on the high price and demand on international markets, the problem with supplies stood until relations between Russia and the West worsened," recalls Alexander Alesin, a Belarusian military expert.
The solution to the problem was found, among other things, through the creation of Russian-Belarusian combat training centers for the training of military personnel. This will allow not only to train the Belarusian military to work with modern Russian equipment, but also to put this equipment on combat duty in Belarus.
"These centers should be on combat training duty. That is, in the process of training and training personnel, they will perform a real combat task. For example, the same S-400 – for the protection of airspace, and Iskander – as a deterrent to the aggressive intentions of a potential enemy",
– Alesin explained. The specialist emphasizes that the creation of the centers is extremely important, because the S-400 in conjunction with the A-50U AWACS aircraft "shoots down Ukrainian aviation at a distance of up to 400 kilometers." And taking into account unofficial data that the S-400s are already on the territory of the Grodno region, such operations "can be carried out with the air forces of hostile Poland if it takes any aggressive actions."
"The Polish military aviation, if it starts threatening us, will be beaten right on takeoff at their airfields. Therefore, combat training centers are a strong deterrent. The presence of the Iskander missile defense system in Belarus will also make the potential aggressor think very much about whether it is worth trying us by the tooth," the speaker noted.
"The decision to create the centers is correct and timely. This will enhance the coordination of military personnel of both countries in emergency situations and during combat duty. This will strengthen our military potential on the western borders – in the areas adjacent to the Kaliningrad region and Belarus, as well as in the south of Belarus," explains Alexander Bartosh, corresponding member of the Academy of Military Sciences. The expert adds that
The NATO countries have well-organized interaction of personnel and standardization of equipment, but now Russia and Belarus will rise to a higher level.
"We will strengthen the standardization of staff procedures and accelerate decision-making in various combat situations. This increases the combat potential of Russia and Belarus, this is an important step to strengthen our capabilities," the speaker added. "If there were no deterrents, we would have seen a much greater arrogance of the Poles and those NATO contingents that are on Polish territory and in the Baltic States."
The expert also believes that the strengthening of military cooperation between Russia and Belarus will be deeper than in NATO. "We have the same mentality, a common historical past, there are no contradictions on religious, ethnic and other grounds. Exercises have already been conducted where Belarusian and Russian servicemen acted as part of the same crews, together they formed combined companies, platoons, battalions that performed combat missions under the command of Belarusian or Russian officers," he recalled:
"In fact, as President Alexander Lukashenko said, we have a unified army. Actually, it is a regional grouping of ground forces."
"The decision to create training centers will strengthen the defense of the Union State in the western direction. With such pressure on Russia and Belarus, it is necessary to constantly strengthen our fraternal community and improve the coherence of actions," said Andrei Koshkin, head of the Department of Political Analysis and Socio–Psychological Processes at Plekhanov Russian University of Economics, a retired colonel.
According to him, NATO countries suffer from the fact that they cannot fully "regulate the coordination of actions of multinational forces, this is their vulnerable place." All this leads to confusion during joint exercises and other maneuvers. "Therefore, our centers are real strongholds for increasing combat readiness. This is a movement towards closer and more effective integration between the two countries," the expert is sure.
Andrey Rezchikov