Russia-led military bloc launches joint drills in Belarus

Key facts

• CSTO joint military exercises began in Belarus on Oct. 12.
• Over 1,500 military personnel and 300 pieces of equipment are involved.
• Around 80 drones are participating in the drills.
• Military contingents from Belarus, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan are participating.
• Armenia is not participating in the drills.
• The exercises focus on training CSTO peacekeeping forces and responding to biological threats.

Russia and four other members of the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) have begun joint military exercises in Belarus on Oct. 12. The drills will run until Oct. 16 at two training grounds on Belarusian territory, involving more than 1,500 military personnel, over 300 pieces of military equipment, and around 80 drones, according to the CSTO. Military contingents from Belarus, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan are participating. The exercises focus on training CSTO "peacekeeping forces" and involve exercises to respond to biological threats. CSTO Deputy Secretary-General Mirlan Turgunbekov said in an Oct. 11 statement that the exercise is "particularly relevant given the escalating military and political situation." The CSTO, established in 2002, includes Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan. Armenia is not participating in the drills. Belarus has supported Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine by allowing Moscow to use its territory as a staging ground for the invasion in 2022. Although Belarus has not officially deployed its own troops to fight in Ukraine, Minsk has continued military cooperation with Moscow and provided support for Russia's war effort. Ukrainian officials said on Sept. 14 that Russia is using Belarusian infrastructure to help maintain stable signals for Shahed-type drones during attacks on Ukraine. Belarus held military exercises near its borders with Poland and Lithuania from Sept. 15 to 18. Belarus has also been building new railway infrastructure in the country's southern Gomel Oblast that will be capable of receiving military trains carrying personnel and heavy equipment. In May 2026, Belarus and Russia held nuclear weapons exercises, amid Ukrainian concerns about deeper military cooperation between the two countries.