14 Sep 2017 21:04

Belarusian Defense Ministry issues brief on day one of Zapad-2017 exercise

MINSK.Sept 14 (Interfax) - The first day of the joint Russia-Belarus Zapad 2017 exercise was dedicated to drilling special combat operations, the Belarusian Defense Ministry said.

"The first day of the exercise involved hearing trainees' conclusions on situation assessment, studying and analyzing the actions of troop commanding officers, commanders and staffs during stabilization of the situation in their zones and areas of responsibility, and the troops and forces' training for intended missions," ministry spokesman Vladimir Makarov said at a briefing in Minsk on Thursday.

Furthermore, troops simulated special combat operations to search for, block and destroy sabotage reconnaissance groups and illegal armed formations, in particular, at Lepelsky training range, he said.

"[Troops] practiced air defense patrol and equipping positions, engineering-wise," Makarov said.

"At Domanovo training range, [troops] practiced air defense patrol, position protection and defense, and equipping of position from an engineering standpoint," Makarov said.

At Ruzhansky training range, troops drilled airspace invasion prevention, aviation control and targeting, he said.

At Borisovsky training range, troops practiced pre-combat preparations, while drills in the Gluboksky area focused on the organization of territorial defense, namely: patrolling, protecting and defending critical sites and engaging sabotage reconnaissance groups and illegal armed formations, the spokesman said.