Today, at the Starodorozhsky training range in the Republic of Belarus, servicemen of the CSTO joint NBC protection and medical support formation began practical operations as part of the “Barrier-2026” special exercise.
Today, at the Losvido training range in Belarus, the CSTO Collective Peacekeeping Forces Commander was presented with a mandate to conduct a peacekeeping operation at the command post as part of the “Indestructible Brotherhood-2026” command-and-staff exercise.
Servicemen of the Combined Arms Army of the Central Military District (CMD) have arrived in the Republic of Belarus to take part 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”.
On October 7, 2026, the Fourth Counter-Terrorism Forum opened in Minsk (Republic of Belarus), bringing together the CIS Conference on Countering Terrorism and Extremism, the SCO Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure international scientific and practical conference, and joint counter-terrorism exercises.
In Belarus, the CSTO joint NBC protection and medical support formation begins practical operations as part of the “Barrier-2026” exercise
13.10.2026
Today, at the Starodorozhsky training range in the Republic of Belarus, servicemen of the CSTO joint NBC protection and medical support formation began practical operations as part of the “Barrier-2026” special exercise.
At this stage of the exercise, the participants are practicing occupying the designated area, engineering preparations for the assembly area, camouflage, organizing comprehensive support, and preparing the forces and assets of the joint formation to carry out tasks in support of the CSTO Collective Peacekeeping Forces.
As part of NBC reconnaissance, the crew of an RKhM-8 reconnaissance chemical vehicle collected a sample from a suspected contaminated area and delivered it to a field chemical laboratory to test for the presence of hazardous or particularly dangerous infectious agents.
The field chemical laboratory complex consists of two modules. The first detects toxic or radioactive substances in samples, while the second detects biological warfare agents and pathogens of dangerous infectious diseases.
During the exercise, laboratory personnel conducted real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing of a soil sample taken from an area potentially contaminated with biological warfare agents. The analysis was performed using an ANK-32 nucleic acid analyzer capable of processing 32 samples simultaneously.
The exercise involves practicing joint actions to conduct biological reconnaissance, collect and analyze samples, and carry out full decontamination.
The Republic of Belarus is hosting 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”.
At the Starodorozhsky training range, the “Barrier-2026” special exercise focuses on practicing the elimination of sources of biological threats in the area of responsibility of the CSTO Collective Peacekeeping Forces.
The exercises involve contingents of the CSTO Troops (Collective Forces) from the Republic of Belarus, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Russian Federation and the Republic of Tajikistan. These include military contingents, units of internal affairs bodies (police) and the National Guard, as well as operational groups from the CSTO Joint Staff and Secretariat. The Russian military contingent is primarily composed of units of the Combined Arms Army of the Central Military District.
In total, more than 1,500 servicemen and over 300 items of weapons, military and special equipment are involved, including approximately 80 different types of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
CSTO Joint Exercise Press Center
Republic of Belarus, Losvido and Starodorozhsky training ranges
