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Russia, Belarus, Serbia to hold Slavic Brotherhood drills in Novorossiysk in mid-June

Last year, the Slavic Brotherhood Russian-Belarusian maneuvers ran on the Brestsky training ground in Belarus in September

MOSCOW, June 8. /TASS/. The active phase of the Slavic Brotherhood-2021 drills involving troops of Russia, Belarus, and Serbia will take place near the southern Russian city of Novorossiysk on June 16-18, Russia’s Defense Ministry reported on Tuesday.

"The ceremonial opening and the active phase of the drills will take place at the Rayevsky practice range near Novorossiysk on June 16-18 this year. The servicemen from the Russian Federation, the Republic of Belarus, and the Republic of Serbia will hold unit cohesion training for subsequently practicing joint operations as part of a multinational tactical group," the ministry said in a statement.

In accordance with the plan, the drills will bring together about 100 staff members of a Serbian special forces brigade, 350 troops of the Vitebsk Guards airborne unit of the Belarusian special operations forces with 60 combat vehicles and over 500 servicemen of the Guards Kuban Cossack air assault regiment of the Novorossiysk Guards mountain air assault formation, the statement says.

Slavic Brotherhood drills have been held since 2015. Last year, the Slavic Brotherhood Russian-Belarusian maneuvers ran on the Brestsky training ground in Belarus in September.

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