Belarus Warning Update: All Russian Slavic Brotherhood Participants Return to Russia

September 30, 2020, 5:15 pm EDT

By George Barros

The two remaining Russian battalion tactical groups (BTG) that participated in Slavic Brotherhood exercises in Belarus departed to their home garrisons in Russia on September 29. The Russian Ministry of Defense provided visual evidence that the BTGs of the Pskov-based 76th and Tula-based 106th Airborne Assault Divisions departed Belarus via rail on September 29.[1] The BTG of the 76^th arrived in Brest on September 15 and the BTG of the 106^th arrived in Grodno on September 21.[2] The BTG of the Ivanovo-based 98th Airborne Assault Division left Belarus on September 25—the same day Slavic Brotherhood exercises ended.[3]

ISW assessed that these elements would likely leave Belarus within a few days of Slavic Brotherhood’s conclusion and that different Russian units would return to Belarus for upcoming Unbreakable Brotherhood exercises planned for October 12-16.[4] 

ISW will continue monitoring the situation and providing updates.

[1] https://tvzvezda(.)ru/news/forces/content/20209292124-oCLur.html?utm_source=tvzvezda&utm_medium=longpage&utm_campaign=longpage&utm_term=v1

[2] https://www.iswresearch.org/2020/09/belarus-warning-update-russia-deploys.html

[3] http://www.iswresearch.org/2020/09/belarus-warning-update-kremlin-may-have.html

[4] http://www.iswresearch.org/2020/09/belarus-warning-update-kremlin-may-have.html; http://www.iswresearch.org/2020/09/belarus-warning-update-kremlin-is.html