The Kremlin may have used its annual joint strategic command exercise in the Southern Military District in part to prepare for deployment of elements of Russia’s Voronezh-based 20th Combined Arms Army (CAA) to Belarus. Regiment-sized motor rifle elements of Belarus’ Zaslonovo-based 19th Guards Mechanized Brigade and unspecified elements of the 20th CAA conducted joint combat exercises as part of the Kavkaz 2020 exercises in Kapustin Yar, Astrakhan, on September 25.[1] Zaslonovo is located about 75 miles from Belarus’ eastern border with Russia. There is no indication of which 20th CAA units interoperated with the Belarusian elements, though they were likely tank or motorized rifle units, given the 20th CAA’s composition, the nature of the exercises in Kapustin Yar, and the Belarusian elements’ motorized rifle designation.
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George Barros: Kremlin might be preparing for a military deployment to Belarus
Russia's navy ships take part in a military exercise called Kavkaz (the Caucasus) 2016 on the coast of the Black Sea in Crimea on Sept. 9, 2016.
