Smooth actions of CSTO rescue workers at Skala 2023 exercise in Minsk Oblast praised

The active phase of the Collective Security Treaty Organization's special exercise for rescue units Skala 2023 [Rock] took place in Borisov District, Minsk Oblast on 5 September. Belarusian rescue workers as well as their colleagues from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan took part in it. They practiced joint response to radiation accidents in destroyed buildings and structures.

Aleksandr Volfovich said: “These exercises are taking place against the backdrop of the same operational and strategic situation and address the same tasks concerning the safety of the population. Heads of the emergencies ministries of Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Russia arrived to watch actions of their contingents. It indicates the importance of such exercises.”

The official pointed out that in addition to military threats it is necessary to tackle matters relating to the protection of the population. “Rescue units of the CSTO states practiced it. They had to deal with an entire complex of man-caused accidents in a training area of the Belarusian Emergencies Ministry. We saw skillful actions and precisely organized interaction of the rescue units of the CSTO countries,” Aleksandr Volfovich said.

The official went on saying that the units used Belarusian vehicles and equipment in order to complete their missions. “The hardware is used by the Belarusian Emergencies Ministry. And this hardware is on par with Western analogs. I am talking about personal gear, equipment, and tools of our rescue workers. I think our colleagues in the Collective Security Treaty Organization will take interest in them and the hardware will enter service with the relevant emergencies ministries,” he concluded.