October 7 marks the 24th anniversary of the signing of the Charter of the Collective Security Treaty Organization, which formalized the establishment of the CSTO as an international regional organization. The goals set out in the document, including strengthening peace and stability and collectively protecting the independence, territorial integrity and sovereignty of the member states, remain the foundation for developing mutually beneficial, truly allied cooperation. On this basis, the Russian Federation is chairing the CSTO in 2026 under the motto “Collective security in a multipolar world: a common goal, shared responsibility.”
From October 18 to 23 this year, a special exercise codenamed “Cobalt-2026” will be held in the Republic of Tajikistan.
Today, the active phase of the command-and-staff exercise with the Collective Operational Reaction Forces (CORF) of the CSTO “Interaction-2026” and the special exercises “Search-2026” and “Echelon-2026” concluded in the Russian Federation.
In the Russian Federation, at the Chebarkulsky training range, particular attention is being paid to organizing the evacuation and repair of damaged equipment under the threat of enemy UAV attacks during the special exercise with the logistics forces and assets of the CSTO Troops (Collective Forces) “Echelon-2026”.
Participants in the CSTO “Indestructible Brotherhood-2026” and “Barrier-2026” exercises head to the Republic of Belarus
07.10.2026
From October 7 to 8, units participating in the command-and-staff exercise with the CSTO Peacekeeping Forces “Indestructible Brotherhood-2026” and the special exercise with the CSTO joint NBC protection and medical support formation “Barrier-2026” are redeploying to the Republic of Belarus.
Contingents of the CSTO Troops (Collective Forces) are moving from the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Russian Federation and the Republic of Tajikistan to the exercise area in accordance with the plan.
In the Republic of Belarus, from October 12 to 16, the command-and-staff exercise “Indestructible Brotherhood-2026”, during which the preparation and conduct of a peacekeeping operation by the CSTO Collective Peacekeeping Forces will be practiced, and the special exercise with the CSTO joint NBC protection and medical support formation “Barrier-2026”, during which the elimination of sources of biological threats in the area of responsibility of the CSTO Collective Peacekeeping Forces will be practiced, will be held.
Speaking at a briefing on the eve of the joint exercise package, CSTO Joint Staff Chief Colonel General Andrey Serdyukov emphasized that all the activities 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 forces and assets to perform their assigned tasks in the interests of ensuring collective security.
It should be recalled that the peacekeeping contingents of the CSTO member states comprise specially trained military, police and civilian personnel, as well as forces and assets provided by the member states to the CSTO peacekeeping forces.
For each peacekeeping operation, depending on the scope of the tasks to be performed and the specific situation in the conflict zone, the composition, structure and strength of the Collective Peacekeeping Forces are determined by a decision of the CSTO Collective Security Council.
CSTO Joint Exercise Press Center
