Union State sets up regional group of troops as part of Union Shield 2015 Russian-Belarusian maneuvers
MOSCOW. Sept 10 (Interfax-AVN) - A regional group of troops and forces of the Western Military District (WMD) and the Belarusian Armed Forces has been created in northwestern Russia as part of the Union Shield 2015 Russian-Belarusian operational exercise, the Russian Defense Ministry has said.
"Motor-rifle tank and artillery units of the regional group have launched delaying operations on the routes of a mock enemy offensive," the WMD said in a press release obtained by Interfax-AVN on Thursday.
The maneuvers involve over 8,000 personnel, about 40 pieces of military hardware, including around 100 tanks and about 80 aircraft.
Under the exercise scenario, the regional group headquarters has started planning a blockade operation in the location of illegal armed groups and deploying Ground Force units in cooperation with the Union State's air forces, the WMD said.
Currently, the two countries' reconnaissance units are at the Kirillovsky training area (Leningradskaya Region) "conducting joint reconnaissance and search efforts to find illegal armed groups and reconnoitering their fighting positions, supply and communication lines," the WMD said.
The regional group staff includes WMD and Belarusian Army generals and officers.
The joint exercise is led by the Chief of the General Staff of the Belarusian Armed Forces, Maj. Gen. Oleg Belokonev.
Motor-rifle, armored and artillery units of the regional group of troops have launched delaying operations on the routes of a mock enemy's offensive.
Union Shield 2015 is a routine joint Russian-Belarusian strategic exercise carried out at the behest of the two countries' heads of state, the WMD said.