Equipment movements on Kazakh roads part of routine exercises - defense ministry

NUR-SULTAN. March 4 (Interfax) - Kazakhstan's defense ministry has issued a statement after a video was circulated on social media showing a military column near Almaty.

"With regard to the video circulated on social media showing a column of military hardware, the Defense Ministry informs as follows: the movement of military hardware on the Almaty-Kapchagay highway is to do with combat training routinely carried out by Kazakhstan's Armed Forces. The personnel and the equipment are heading to their bases from a training range," the statement said on Friday.

Thus, there were movements between garrisons from Karaganda to Gvardeisky and from Almaty to Aktau on February 25-March 3 and from Shymkent to Taraz and Turkistan, to the Aisha Bibi training range and back, and by rail from Western to southern Kazakhstan, for repairs, on March 1-4. Also, military hardware from the Semey garrison was delivered to Shchunsk for practical exercises at the Military College of the Defense Ministry, it said.

"As for the military hardware spotted by social media users in Almaty, it has nothing to do with the Defense Ministry," the statement said.