OREANDA-NEWS  The Ministry of Defense of Belarus announced the start of tactical flight exercises of the Armed forces of the Republic and the Russian Federation. 

It follows from the message of the Belarusian defense Ministry that the main purpose of the exercise is "to increase interoperability in the joint performance of combat training tasks."

As part of the exercises, the armed forces of Russia and Belarus should, in particular, work out joint patrolling of the airspace along the state border, the landing of tactical airborne troops, cargo delivery and evacuation of the wounded, the press service noted. The exercises will last until February 1.

The fact that Russia and Belarus agreed to create a joint group of troops became known on October 10, 2022. According to the President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko, the need to form a joint grouping is caused by threats from Western countries. He also clarified that the group will include the entire Belarusian army of about 70 thousand people. The Ministry of Defense of Belarus said that the number of Russian military in the group is less than 9 thousand people.