CHEBARKUL /Chelyabinsk Region/, November 8. /TASS/. Russia’s 201st military base stationed in Tajikistan will receive the first echelons with upgraded T-72B3M tanks in November, Central Military District Commander Colonel-General Alexander Lapin announced on Monday.
"We have carried out large-scale rearmament work at our 201st military base. Today three motor rifle battalions have been rearmed with new combat hardware. Until the end of this year, we will complete rearming a tank battalion and will get 30 heavily upgraded T-72B3M tanks," the commander said, specifying that the first echelons with the armor were expected to arrive already in November.
Russia’s 201st military base in Tajikistan has been engaged in large-scale rearmament throughout the year. Anti-aircraft gunners have received the latest all-weather Verba man-portable air defense systems instead of Igla MANPADS. The Russian military base has also received Kornet anti-tank missile systems, ASVK-M Kord sniper rifles, AK-12 assault rifles, longer-range and enhanced-power rocket-propelled infantry flamethrowers, logistics support and maintenance vehicles.
About the military base
The 201st military base stationed in Tajikistan is Russia’s largest military facility outside its borders. The military base is stationed in the cities of Dushanbe and Bokhtar. The military base comprises motor rifle, armored, artillery and reconnaissance units, air defense forces, radiation, chemical and biological protection and signal troops.
Under an agreement signed in October 2012, Russia’s military base in Tajikistan will remain until 2042.
This year, the personnel of the 201st military base participated in nine international drills in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan and also in the Peace Mission 2021 joint military counter-terror command and staff drills of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) held in the Orenburg Region in the Urals.
The 201st military base is also training personnel for the Tajik army. As of today, over 6,000 Tajik servicemen have been trained.