CSTO kicks off joint military drills in Tajikistan

Units from the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) have begun large-scale joint exercises in Tajikistan, running from October 14 to 19.

The drills, titled Indestructible Brotherhood–2025 and Barrier–2025, involve contingents from Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia, who are being deployed to Tajikistan by air and road transport in line with an agreed plan, Caliber.Az reports per CSTO.

The Indestructible Brotherhood–2025 exercise is taking place at the Fakhrabad training ground, focusing on the preparation and conduct of a peacekeeping operation by CSTO Collective Peacekeeping Forces on the territory of a member state.

For the first time, the peacekeeping training is being held alongside a special exercise codenamed Barrier–2025, which brings together CSTO units specialising in chemical, biological, radiological and medical defence. The scenario includes responding to and eliminating biological threats in support of peacekeeping operations.

The active phases of the CSTO drills are being conducted in coordination with the final stage of the Commonwealth Anti-Terror–2025 exercise — a joint counterterrorism training of the competent authorities of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).

By Aghakazim Guliyev