Russia is holding third large-scale military exercise in less than three...

After the end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Russia’s sphere of influence was severely restricted. After that, NATO expanded its influence and culminated in the “increased presence forward” in the states of the Soviet Union, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland of the former Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact.

In practice, this means four multinational combat groups, led by the UK, Canada, Germany and the US, each “ready to fight and demonstrating the strength of the transatlantic bond,” according to the NATO website.

In response to the expansion of NATO, Russia founded the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) in 1992, with Armenia, Russia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Kazakhstan as members. It is the CSTO that organizes the now annual exercises on the “Indestructible Brotherhood”.

This year’s exercises contain some important messages for anti-government protesters in Belarus who “are acting outside the law and want to do a lot to get the situation out of control in Belarus,” according to Kremlin-controlled Russian Colonel Viktor Baranets’ Sputnik news agency.

Nagorno-Karabakh

According to the Belarusian Defense Ministry, around 900 soldiers take part in the exercises, which are supported by helicopters and drones.

Major General Alexander Volfovich, Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Belarus, said: “The operation will become a strategic containment measure in the context of the difficult situation that is developing in the world, and in particular on the territory of the post-Soviet countries” relates to the fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan around the Nagorno-Karabakh area, where hundreds of people have died and infrastructure is being destroyed.

“The situation in Ukraine, Kyrgyzstan and Belarus remains difficult,” he says, and is convinced that the exercises “will help cool the hot heads who add fuel to the fire and try to make lawlessness on the territory more sovereign To ignite countries. “.

The “Indestructible Brotherhood” exercise is the third major Russian military game in less than three weeks.

In September, the “Caucasus 2020” exercises (September 21-26) deployed around 80,000 soldiers, including 1,000 troops from China, Armenia, Belarus, Myanmar and Pakistan.

Moscow claimed that the number of frontline soldiers involved did not exceed 13,000, so the organizers were not obliged to invite observers from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), as set out in the Vienna Document 2011, which set out the scope of the military exercises is European soil.

Slavic Brotherhood

These exercises coincided with the “Slavic Brotherhood” exercises, a series of operations that began in 2015 and were carried out alternately by Russia, Belarus and Serbia. This year the exercises took place on the training ground in Brest near the Russian border.

Serbia, a candidate for EU membership, has since announced a refinement of its military commitments.

According to Balkan InsightSerbia’s Defense Minister Aleksandar Vulin, a website of the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (Birn), said: “In the near future (Serbia) will not participate in any exercises or military activities with NATO, the CSTO, Russia and the United States, China, the European Union or the East or the West. ”