Large-scale special exercises for the material and technical support of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation started in the Western Military District.

This was announced by the Russian Ministry of Defense.

It is noted that the maneuvers will take place at eleven training grounds located in the Leningrad, Yaroslavl, Nizhny Novgorod, Voronezh, Bryansk, Tver, Pskov and Moscow regions, and seven military airfields.

In addition, a naval stage of the exercises is planned, within which the forces of the Baltic Fleet will work out actions "to deploy and use elements of the sea transshipment area, as well as to replenish stocks of materiel at sea."

About 1.5 thousand servicemen and about 400 thousand pieces of equipment are involved in the MTO exercises.

“Within the framework of the exercises, practical tasks will be worked out in all types of logistic and technical support: the transportation of troops and military cargo, the construction of bridge crossings and the establishment of railway bridges, road and ferry crossings, the restoration of weapons and military equipment in combat conditions, the organization of special types of technical and food supply for the branches and arms of the troops, ”said the Deputy Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation, General of the Army Dmitry Bulgakov, under whose leadership the exercises will be held.

According to Bulgakov, the current exercises, which will last until August 27, will allow servicemen to gain real experience in the given conditions and new knowledge, as well as to work out and improve existing skills and abilities.

  • Ships of the Baltic Fleet of the Russian Navy

  • globallookpress.com

  • © MFA Russia

A day earlier, exercises with the forces and means of logistical and technical support of the armies, in which the Russian military also take part, started in parallel in Belarus.

According to the Ministry of Defense of the republic, "the purpose of the exercises is to test the readiness and ability of military command and control bodies, forces and means of technical and logistical support of the armed forces of the two countries for joint actions, their interaction and field training."

In an escalating environment

According to experts, the combat training that is now taking place, in the future, can be used not only in military training maneuvers, but also in combat situations.

"Exercises on the logistics of the Armed Forces solve practical problems in all types of logistic and technical support, including the replacement of military equipment that has failed, the supply of weapons on a subsidized basis, ammunition for theaters of military operations," the head of the Bureau explained in a commentary on RT. military-political analysis Alexander Mikhailov.

In turn, a member of the Council for Foreign and Defense Policy, retired Major General Pavel Zolotarev pointed out that without reliable and well-coordinated logistics support, the conduct of hostilities is virtually impossible.

"In real hostilities, logistics support plays one of the key roles, without this it is impossible for the military to carry out the assigned tasks," the expert noted in a commentary on RT.

In this regard, Zolotarev added, it is extremely important to work out the moments of material and technical support both on land and at sea, since in itself it is one of the most difficult tasks.

Also on russian.rt.com Crews of anti-submarine ships of the Black Sea Fleet conducted exercises in the Black Sea

"After all, it is the rear services that organize the supply of the armed forces with fuel, spare parts and components, ammunition, medicines and others, because real combat operations begin with rear support, without which it is impossible to win on the battlefield," Zolotarev said. 

He also emphasized that today exercises in which several types of armed forces are involved are relevant to work out their effective interaction.

The Ministry of Defense also clarified that the current maneuvers are part of a set of measures for operational and combat training of the Russian armed forces and "a control stage for checking their readiness for the joint strategic exercise West 2021."

"No need to disturb the Russian bear"

We will remind, the exercises "West - 2021" will be held jointly with Belarus from 10 to 16 September this year.

Major General Yevgeny Ilyin, First Deputy Head of the Main Directorate of International Military Cooperation of the Ministry of Defense, noted that about 200 thousand servicemen, about 80 units of aircraft, up to 760 units of military equipment and 15 ships will take part in them.

At the same time, he stressed, the exercises do not imply an orientation towards any specific enemy.

“The enemy is conditional.

There is no provision for working out the issues of conducting military operations against any specific states, ”Ilyin said at a briefing on August 20.

According to him, the scenario simulates the situation with the escalation of the conflict between the opposing coalitions of conditional states.

"According to the scenario of the exercise, in this situation, the trained command and control bodies, troops and forces will perform training and combat missions to repel the strikes of the air attack of the simulated enemy, conduct reconnaissance, search, defensive and offensive actions to localize the armed conflict and defeat the enemy," said the general major.

In addition, Ilyin pointed out, nine friendly countries were invited to participate in the exercises, including Kazakhstan, India, Tajikistan, Serbia and Sri Lanka.

"The armed forces of China, Vietnam, Myanmar, Pakistan and Uzbekistan will be represented by military observers," he said.

The first deputy chief of the Main Directorate of International Military Cooperation of the Ministry of Defense also noted that "West - 2021" is purely defensive in nature, and the main maneuvers of troops will take place at a considerable distance from the western border of the Russian Federation.

In July, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu spoke about the neutrality of the "West - 2021" and that the exercises "are not directed against any country or union".

At the same time, as the Deputy Minister of Defense, Head of the Main Military-Political Directorate of the Armed Forces Andrei Kartapolov said, the upcoming maneuvers will show the futility of building up NATO forces near the borders of Russia.

“I believe that during the Zapad-2021 exercise, we will once again try to show our partners that we don’t need to do this, we don’t need to bother the Russian bear,” he said on August 20 on the air of the Moscow Says radio station.

  • Joint strategic exercises of Russia and Belarus "West - 2017"

  • globallookpress.com

  • © mil.ru

Analysts note that the joint exercises of the two countries are aimed at practicing the coordination of actions of the armed forces and solving military tasks in simulated conditions.

At the same time, despite a very correct organization that meets all the requirements of international treaties, these maneuvers always attract increased attention, as well as criticism and accusations of aggression from Western countries.

“Teachings of this kind characterize the unity, understanding of the military-political tasks facing Belarus and Russia.

At the same time, these teachings always shock the West.

I expect that all NATO information structures will characterize them as aggressive on the part of Russia, "Andrei Koshkin, a member of the Russian Academy of Military Sciences, expressed his opinion in an interview with RT.

In turn, Alexander Mikhailov called the upcoming maneuvers quite timely, noting that several more military exercises with the involvement of the NATO contingent will be held in Europe by the beginning of December.

“Due to the current geopolitical situation and in the event of a military threat, Russia and Belarus must defend their borders.

Now we are working out the coordination of the actions of the troops and the joint activities of the power structures, ”the expert summed up.