Belarus kicks off military rehearsal to "liberate occupied territories"

The command and staff exercises of the Belarusian army at the Brestsky training ground, as well as in the Minsk and Vitebsk regions, began on September 8 and will ürap up on September 14, 2022.

According to Kommersant, the manoeuvres are conducted under the leadership of the First Deputy Minister of Defense, the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Belarus Viktor Gulevich.

“The exercise will allow in practice to work out the following issues: conducting combat (special) operations to liberate territory temporarily captured by the enemy; restoration of control over the State Border in the zones (lines) of responsibility of responsibility; air support for troops; ensuring forceful measures of martial law, the fight against sabotage and reconnaissance groups of the enemy and illegal armed formations,” the ministry’s Telegram channel says.

To “demonstrate transparency to the international community and strive to strengthen regional security”, Belarus invited representatives of the military-diplomatic corps of foreign countries as observers.

The Ministry of Defense informed that the number of troops, involved weapons and military equipment does not exceed the level subject to mandatory notification in accordance with the Vienna Document 2011.

The last annual mobilization exercises in Belarus took place at the end of June this year. Earlier, the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Belarus, Viktor Gulevich, said that Ukraine had built up an armed group of up to 20,000 people on the border. Subsequently, Minsk announced the deployment of "special operations forces" in the southern direction.