The floor testing of the combat readiness of the Belarusian armed forces has entered its active stage, i.e. integrated drills, the Defense Ministry reports.
By the moment, the Belarusian participants in the drills are strengthening the positions they have taken earlier. Around 6,000 persons and 200 units of military equipment.are to be engaged in the maneuvers.
According to the ministry, the exercise is aimed not only at assessing the degree of Belarusian troops’ operational availability; it will be part of the response to Defender Europe 2020, the NATO multinational exercises that are expected to be carried out not far from the Belarusian border.
“The combat readiness test is taking place in a complicated military, political, and strategic situation. Europe is getting militarised. The number of troops and weapons is on the rise. More and more exercises are held in neighbouring countries. Defender Europe 2020 will be the largest one in the last 25 years,” state-run news agency BelTA quotes Defense Minister Viktar Khrenin.
More than 11,000 troops and about 800 weapon units were deployed for the exercise to Poland and Baltic states alone, the minister added.
