The joint strategic exercise of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Belarus and the Russian Federation "West-2013" has concluded

The joint strategic exercise of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Belarus and the Russian Federation "West-2013", held from September 20 to 26, 2013, under the leadership of the Minister of Defense of the Republic of Belarus and the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation - First Deputy Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation, concluded yesterday. During the exercise, the issue of "Preparation and application of troop (force) groupings in the interests of ensuring the military security of the Union State" was practiced.

"West-2013" is, first and foremost, a defensive exercise, confirming the course towards combat readiness and commitment to allied obligations with the Russian Federation. Its concept was approved by the President of the Republic of Belarus A. Lukashenko. Priority in its development was given to modern approaches to the application of troops (forces) based on the experience of recent armed conflicts, operational training events, as well as forms and methods of troop application developed in the armed forces of the two states.

In the first stage, the joint command of the regional troop (force) grouping planned its application, managed troops (forces) during the completion of troop deployment, isolation of areas of operation of illegal armed formations, build-up of air force and air defense troop groupings, and cover of important state and military facilities.

In the second stage, issues of troop (force) management were practiced during military measures to stabilize the situation in the interests of ensuring the military security of the Union State.

A feature of the exercise was the participation not only of servicemen of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Belarus and the Russian Federation, but also of Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan, within the framework of the CSTO Collective Rapid Deployment Forces exercise "Interaction-2013", conducted against the common operational-strategic background of the "West-2013" exercise.

Practical actions of military command bodies and troops took place at training grounds located in the territory of the Republic of Belarus and in the Kaliningrad region of the Russian Federation. The tactical episodes were based on scenarios of joint actions of Belarusian and Russian military units and formations.

During the exercise, serious attention was paid to the issues of organizing and conducting territorial defense. The regional Defense Council worked, developing and making decisions on the evolving situation.

Territorial defense management bodies, in cooperation with regional departments of internal affairs, the Ministry of Emergency Situations, the State Security Committee, the Investigative Committee, the border service agencies, and the regional prosecutor's office, carried out tasks related to the protection and defense of objects of significant state importance, strengthening the protection of the state border, searching for and detecting illegal armed groups, blocking and destroying them, as well as eliminating the consequences of sabotage and terrorist activities.

It is worth noting the high level of training and coordination of the region's territorial defense forces, which are professionally prepared to accomplish the tasks assigned to them.

The exercise demonstrated that the established territorial defense system is capable of ensuring the stable functioning of state bodies and organizations, economic facilities, communications, and the population's life support systems, as well as their protection.

?Igor Martynov, Military Commissar of the Vitebsk Region