CSTO holds two joint military exercises in Belarus with over 1,500 personnel
The Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) began two joint exercises in Belarus on Sunday: Indestructible Brotherhood-2026 and Barrier-2026, Xinhua reported.
The opening ceremony of the command-post exercise involving the CSTO Collective Peacekeeping Forces were held at Victory Square in the Belarusian city of Vitebsk. Contingents from Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan assembled in the square, and participants laid flowers at memorials honoring Soviet liberators, partisans and underground fighters in the region.
The ceremony was attended by Major General Vladimir Bely, Belarusian chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces and first deputy defense minister, Lieutenant General Ruslan Shpekbaev, deputy chief of the CSTO Joint Staff, and Colonel Alexander Ilyukevich, commander of Belarus' Special Operations Forces of the Belarusian Armed Forces.
In his remarks, Bely warned of a shifting global security landscape and stressed the need to strengthen regional cooperation within the CSTO to counter growing threats.
He pointed to Western policies and actions that he said were increasing regional security risks and underscored the importance of effective joint training.
Separately, the 8th Radiological, Chemical and Biological Protection Brigade in the Minsk region held the opening ceremony of a special exercise under Barrier-2026, focusing on joint radiological, chemical and biological protection and medical support within the CSTO framework.
The exercises involve not only armed forces but also personnel from internal affairs agencies, police, internal troops and emergency services. Indestructible Brotherhood-2026 will focus on peacekeeping operations, while Barrier-2026 will simulate responses to biological threats.
The two exercises will be held at the Losvido and Starodorozhsky training grounds, respectively.
More than 1,500 servicemen and over 300 units of military and special equipment will participate in the exercises, including approximately 80 unmanned aerial vehicles.
The CSTO comprises six member states: Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan.
Earlier, it was reported that on the sidelines of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan, Mukhtar Tileuberdi, participated in a working meeting of the foreign ministers of the CSTO member states.