Belarusian Security Council State Secretary Aliaksandr Valfovich announced a partial stand-down of the exercises at the 7th Separate Special Police Brigade of the Interior Ministry’s Internal Troops in Vitebsk.
“Today, I announced a partial stand-down of the exercise. This does not mean that the brigade’s inspection has been completed. It has been placed on ‘Permanent’ readiness, which makes it possible to release reservists and return to normal operations,” Valfovich said.
For a week, the brigade underwent a surprise combat readiness inspection on the orders of Aliaksandr Lukashenka. Reservists were called up.
The troops practiced suppressing mass unrest, guarding facilities and freeing hostages. In particular, they practiced thwarting an attempted takeover of a major local industrial enterprise, blocking and eliminating a sabotage and reconnaissance group in an urban area, freeing a district executive committee head held hostage, and stopping a vehicle carrying saboteurs.
“The formation successfully completed the assigned tasks: command and control procedures were practiced and appropriate decisions were made,” Valfovich said.
On the evening of Sept. 8, he reported to Lukashenka on the progress of the inspection. Personnel issues in the Armed Forces were also discussed during the briefing.
