CSTO Exercises Opening Ceremony Took Place in Vitebsk

On August 31, the opening ceremony of large-scale military exercises of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) took place in Vitebsk.

The ceremony was held on Victory Square. The participants laid flowers at the monument "to Paratroopers of All Generations" and the memorial in honor of soldiers who liberated the Vitebsk region.

Servicemen from Belarus, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan are taking part in the exercises. In total, there are more than 2,000 people and about 450 pieces of military equipment involved.

The exercises will take place at the Losvido and Lepelsky training grounds from August 31 to September 6, and include several parts: Vzaimodeistvie-2025 joint exercises, Poisk-2025 and Echelon-2025 special exercises.

The official opening ceremony was attended by high-ranking military and government officials, including Major General Pavel Muraveiko, Chief of General Staff of the Republic of Belarus, and Colonel General Andrei Serdyukov, Chief of the CSTO Joint Staff.

Gennady Lepeshko, Chairman of the Coordination Meeting of Chairpersons of Committees on Defence and Security of the Parliaments of the CSTO Member States, is observing the exercises.