September 20, Minsk /BelTA correspondent/. The joint strategic exercise of the armed forces of Belarus and Russia "Zapad-2013" has begun. This was reported to BelTA by the Ministry of Defence of Belarus.
The exercise will be held on the territory of two countries from September 20 to 26 under the leadership of the Minister of Defence of Belarus and the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Russia - First Deputy Minister of Defence of the Russian Federation. Practical actions of military command bodies and troops will be conducted at six training grounds located in Belarus - at the Brestsky, Gozhsky, Osipovichsky, Obuz-Lesnovsky, Borisovsky, Domanovsky training grounds, as well as in the Kaliningrad region of Russia. The exercise will be held in two stages. At the first stage, the Joint Command of the regional troop grouping is to plan its deployment, manage troops during the completion of force deployment, isolate areas of operation of illegal armed formations, and build up the air force and air defence troops grouping to cover important state and military facilities. The second stage plans to work out issues of troop management during military measures to stabilise the situation in order to ensure the military security of the Union State.
The total number of personnel to participate in the exercise on the territory of Belarus will be 12.9 thousand servicemen (slightly more than 10 thousand from Belarus, about 2.5 thousand from Russia). It is planned to involve 350 units of armoured vehicles, including about 70 tanks, over 50 units of artillery and MLRS, and more than 50 aircraft and helicopters. The latest equipment will also be used, some of which has already been adopted, and some is undergoing final testing. In particular, samples of Belarusian unmanned aerial vehicles, communication facilities, radar, navigation systems, and electronic warfare systems will be used. On Russian territory, about 200 servicemen of the 103rd Separate Mobile Brigade of the Armed Forces of Belarus will be involved in the exercise. It is emphasised that the number of troops participating in the exercise, the combat tanks, combat armoured vehicles, self-propelled and towed artillery, and the number of planned sorties do not exceed the level subject to mandatory observation of certain types of military activities established by various arms control treaties and agreements.
During the "Zapad-2013" exercise, the parties aim to enhance the interoperability of command posts at various levels, as well as the integration of advanced command and control systems for troops and weapons. They also intend to test the provisions of new statutory documents developed within the armed forces of Belarus and Russia. The exercise will provide practical experience for commanders and staff in planning military operations to stabilise the situation, as well as in commanding troops during their execution. The plan is to improve the coordination of military command bodies, and the field and air training of formations and military units that are part of the regional grouping of troops of Belarus and Russia. It will also offer the Belarusian and Russian military departments a real opportunity to review the chosen paths of cooperation in the interests of developing the armed forces and strengthening the defence capability of the Union State. The exercise is primarily aimed at testing the functioning of the joint defence system of the Union State and its ability to address issues of national and regional security. The subject matter of the exercise involves practising the preparation and deployment of troop groupings to ensure the military security of the Union State.
The priority directions in defining the concept of the current exercise were modern approaches to troop deployment based on the experience of recent armed conflicts, operational training activities, as well as forms and methods of troop deployment developed within the armed forces of the two states. One of the possible scenarios for the emergence of a crisis situation and escalation of conflict has been used, with the opposing sides being conventionally located within the actual borders of Belarus and three adjacent regions of Russia.
In late 2012, Belarus officially notified the participating states of the 2011 Vienna Document "On Confidence- and Security-Building Measures" about the upcoming joint exercise of the armed forces of Belarus and Russia, "Zapad-2013". Furthermore, demonstrating transparency and a commitment to strengthening regional security and a zone of good neighbourliness, Belarus invited representatives of the military diplomatic corps of foreign countries accredited to the Ministry of Defence of Belarus, as well as observers from Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and Ukraine, to observe the active phase of the exercise. -0-
News of Belarus (BELTA)