According to Minsk, these exercises are designed to prepare command structures and units to “jointly carry out tasks in preparation for and conduct of a strategic operation.”
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Practical actions are carried out at the Goža training ground in the Grodno region, bordering Lithuania, as well as at the Brest and Rožany training grounds in the Brest region, located approximately 15 km and 60 km respectively from the Polish border.
The exercises involve, among others, mechanized and tank battalions tasked with guarding the state border, combating sabotage groups, and repelling attacks using drones and light aircraft.
Belarus has stated that the number of participating troops and weapons does not exceed the limits that must be reported under the 2011 Vienna Document – the European states’ agreements on security and confidence-building measures related to military resources.
These maneuvers are part of broader efforts to test the combat readiness of Belarusian security forces. Last week, the authoritarian Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko visited a training ground near Baranovichi; he stated that this visit aimed to assess the country’s security sector as a whole.
Minsk called these exercises “exclusively defensive.”
Belarus has supported Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine since February 2022 by allowing Russian forces to use its territory, airspace, and military infrastructure to conduct attacks against Ukraine.
Ukraine’s State Border Guard Service reported on Monday that Russia is also using Belarusian relay stations to control drones sent to attack Western Ukrainian regions.
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