CSTO launches joint military drills in Belarus

The Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) began large-scale military exercises in Belarus on August 31, bringing together more than 2,000 personnel from Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan.

The drills, codenamed “Interaction-2025,” “Search-2025,” and “Echelon-2025,” include 450 units of weapons and equipment, among them nine aircraft and helicopters, as well as over 70 drones of various types, Caliber.Az reports, citing Deutsche Welle.

Belarusian officials said President Alexander Lukashenko personally ordered the exercises to be relocated deeper into the country. The move was presented as a precaution to avoid accusations of provocations along Belarus’s western and southern borders.

According to Chief of the Belarusian General Staff, Major General Pavel Muraveiko, the maneuvers will also involve planning scenarios for the potential use of nuclear weapons.

He noted that nuclear arms would not actually be deployed, describing them as a threat to global security, but stressed the importance of training in operational planning.

By Sabina Mammadli