MOSCOW, July 22. /TASS/. The first Russian military train carrying troops and equipment arrived in Brest in preparation for the Zapad-2021 (West-2021) Russia-Belarus strategic maneuvers, the press office of the Belarusian Defense Ministry reported on Thursday.

"The first military train carrying Russian troops and hardware has arrived in Brest. The troops will take part in the Zapad-2021 joint strategic exercise of the armed forces of Belarus and the Russian Federation," the press office said in a statement.

"We have arrived in a good mood and traveled less than 24 hours. There have been no problems during the transit. We have been assisted in unloading our equipment. I am glad that I have arrived on the soil of the Republic of Belarus with my personnel to participate in the drills," the press office quoted Russian Military Contingent Deputy Commander Sergey Kobrov as saying.

The Russian military unit regularly participates in large strategic drills and the first task now is "to unload armaments and military hardware, leave for the designated area and start equipping a field camp," the deputy commander said.

The military train carrying the Russian troops and equipment also arrived at the Polonka railway station in the Brest Region to prepare for and participate in the upcoming joint strategic exercise, the press office of the Belarusian Defense Ministry said.

The Zapad-2021 strategic maneuvers will run on the territory of Russia and Belarus on September 10-16 to focus on "employing the groupings of forces (troops) in the interests of ensuring the military security of the [Russia-Belarus] Union State".

Russian Deputy Defense Minister Yunus-Bek Yevkurov visited Belarus last week to survey the areas of the upcoming joint military exercise. He also discussed "the essential issues of military cooperation in combat training" with Chief of the Belarusian General Staff Viktor Gulevich.