MOSCOW, March 7. /TASS/. Joint Russian-Belarusian drills of the Russian Airborne Troops and the Belarusian Special Operations Forces will be conducted in March in the territory of the two countries, the Russian Defense Ministry told reporters.

According to the ministry, the first joint Russian-Belarusian tactical exercise held in 2021, dedicated to peacekeeping, will be conducted from March 9 to 20 at the Polivno training range in the Ulyanovsk Region.

"The active phase of drills will be held in the period from March 16 to 19. In all, over 400 servicemen and about 100 units of combat and special equipment of the Ulyanovsk formation will be involved in the drills, from the Belarusian side - more than 80 servicemen of the Separate Guards Air Assault Division of the Special Operations Forces," the military agency reported.

The drills will involve two Mi-24 helicopter gunships and six Mi-8AMTSh combat-transport helicopters of the Central Military District.

"Simultaneously, joint Belarusian-Russian tactical drills will be held from March 15 to 27 at the Osipovichsky training facility in the Minsk Region <...>. From the Russian side, about 90 servicemen of the Guards Black Sea Airborne Assault Regiment of the Pskov Guards Airborne Division will participate, from the side of the Special Operations Forces of the Belarusian Armed Forces - over 400 military personnel and about 100 units of combat and special equipment of the Vitebsk Separate Guards Airborne Division," the Russian Defense Ministry reported.