Briefing by the Chief of the CSTO Joint Staff on the readiness of command and control bodies and formations of the CSTO collective security system forces and assets to conduct joint exercises

Today, a briefing was held by Colonel General Andrey Nikolaevich Serdyukov, Chief of the CSTO Joint Staff, on the topic “On the readiness of command and control bodies and formations of the CSTO collective security system forces and assets to conduct joint exercises.”

Representatives of the press services of the defense ministries and mass media of the Republic of Belarus, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Russian Federation and the Republic of Tajikistan took part in the event via videoconference.

During the briefing, the Chief of the CSTO Joint Staff provided information on the objectives and tasks of the joint exercises, their specifics, the forces and assets involved, and announced the readiness of command and control bodies and formations of the forces and assets to conduct the exercises.

Below is information based on the briefing materials.

“The military-political situation in the world remains tense. This is due to the profound transformation of the system of international relations, the breakdown of previous arms control agreements and the transition to fierce confrontation between the key ‘centers of power’.

Processes taking place at the global and regional levels have a significant negative impact on the military-political situation and contribute to bringing ‘zones of instability’ closer to the area of responsibility of the CSTO member states.

In view of the current situation, this year the main focus has been placed on the Eastern European and Central Asian collective security regions.

At the same time, the main efforts are focused on implementing the CSTO priority areas for the period of the Russian Federation’s chairmanship, linked to organizing joint operational and combat training in line with the nature of current and emerging threats and challenges in the Organization’s area of responsibility and taking into account the experience of modern armed conflicts, with a view to ensuring the readiness of the Collective Forces to accomplish their designated tasks.

To date, the Joint Staff, together with the Secretariat and the defense ministries of the Organization’s member states, has carried out extensive preparatory work for the upcoming exercises, including consultations, staff talks, separate and joint staff exercises, working meetings to develop and coordinate exercise concepts, and reconnaissance of the areas where the exercises will be held.

Particular importance in this preparation was attached to the strategic command-and-staff exercise held in March, during which a comprehensive set of measures to respond to crisis situations was consistently practiced, and draft decisions of the CSTO statutory bodies on the employment of all components of the Collective Forces were developed.

These documents subsequently formed the basis for the concepts of this year’s joint exercises.

The main exercise in terms of the tasks to be accomplished, scale and composition of participants is the command-and-staff exercise with the Collective Operational Reaction Forces, “Interaction-2026”, to be held in late September at a training range of the Central Military District of the Russian Federation. To complete preparations for the command-and-staff exercise, special exercises with reconnaissance forces and assets, “Search-2026”, and logistics forces and assets, “Echelon-2026”, will be held shortly beforehand.

It is important to note that, in practicing the preparation and conduct of a joint operation, particular attention will be paid to organizing command and control of the CORF contingents, taking into account the constantly changing forms and methods of warfare, as well as the experience of modern armed conflicts. It is planned to practically practice the full range of measures for deploying the command and control system, drawing on the experience of the Russian Armed Forces.

Guided by the statutory principles of the CSTO, representatives of international organizations and states that are not members of the Organization have been invited to the exercises.

In the second ten-day period of September, the joint exercise “Frontier-2026” with the Collective Rapid Deployment Forces of the Central Asian Region will be held at the Koktal training range in the Republic of Kazakhstan. Its concept is closely linked to the strategic command-and-staff exercise “Decisive Repulse-2026”, the main operational and combat training event of the Armed Forces of Kazakhstan.

Particular attention will be paid to accomplishing combat training tasks in mountainous and desert terrain in cooperation with units of Kazakhstan’s border troops and National Guard.

In mid-October, the command-and-staff exercise with the CSTO Peacekeeping Forces, “Indestructible Brotherhood-2026”, will be held at the Losvido training range in the Republic of Belarus.

For comprehensive practice of peacekeeping tasks, units of combat and transport aviation, engineering troops, crews of unmanned aerial systems, a special-purpose medical detachment, a unit of the Vityaz Emergency Fire and Rescue Detachment of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, as well as units of the Internal Troops and OMON of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Belarus, will additionally be involved.

At the same time, a special exercise with the CSTO joint NBC protection and medical support formation, “Barrier-2026”, will be held at the Starodorozhsky training range. The exercise will include practical training in eliminating biological threats in the area of responsibility of the Collective Peacekeeping Forces, as well as practicing the participation of the joint formation in collective response measures in the event of large-scale and rapid spread of dangerous infectious diseases.

In addition, as part of efforts to establish a remote telemedicine consultation system within the CSTO framework, a videoconference with the S.M. Kirov Military Medical Academy will be organized for the first time during the exercise to provide advisory and training support to medical specialists performing tasks in the field.

As part of military-technical cooperation, the exercises will feature demonstrations of modern and advanced weapons, military and special equipment, including demonstrations of their capabilities during practical drills. These will include unmanned and robotic systems, electronic warfare and air defense systems that have proven their effectiveness during the special military operation.

Research will also be conducted during the exercises on the most pressing issues concerning the employment of the Collective Forces, involving specialized experts from CSTO basic training, methodological and research organizations.

Taking into account that the CSTO Collective Forces must accomplish tasks in border areas in close cooperation with border troops units, representatives of the Border Academy and the Border Research Center of the Russian Federal Security Service will participate in the “Interaction” exercise. They will conduct research on issues related to cooperation between the CSTO CORF and border authorities in localizing an armed border conflict.

In total, more than 5,000 personnel and over 1,000 units of weapons, military and special equipment will be involved in the CSTO joint exercises in 2026. The redeployment of national contingents to the exercise areas will be carried out by military transport aviation, rail and road transport.

Today, we declare the readiness of the command and control bodies and formations of the collective security system forces and assets to conduct joint exercises.

I would like to emphasize that the Organization’s activities are a foundation for strengthening peace, international and regional security and stability, and for collectively protecting the independence, territorial integrity and sovereignty of our states. The member states give priority to political means in achieving these objectives.

I also consider it important to emphasize that all activities and exercises being conducted are planned, are not directed against third countries, and are aimed at improving the interoperability of command and control bodies and troops, as well as maintaining the readiness of formations of the forces and assets to accomplish their designated tasks in the interests of ensuring collective security.

Given the scope of the tasks accomplished and activities carried out, I am confident that the joint exercises will be conducted in an organized and high-quality manner, their training and research objectives will be achieved, and the Collective Forces will demonstrate a high level of field proficiency and operational cohesion!”