MOSCOW. Sept 7 (Interfax) - The Rubezh 2021 joint military exercise involving 1,000 armed forces personnel from Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, and Tajikistan has begun in Kyrgyzstan amid the ongoing dire situation in Afghanistan, the press center for the maneuvers said.
"The military-political situation in the area of responsibility of the Collective Security Treaty Organization [CSTO] remains challenging. The most adverse situation persists in the Central Asia region in the wake of the Taliban [terrorist organization banned in Russia] seizing power in Afghanistan, which borders the Republic of Tajikistan. Also, a high level of activity of international terrorism and religious extremism remains in the region," Chief of the CSTO Joint Staff Anatoly Sidorov said at the opening ceremony for the Rubezh 2021 maneuvers on Tuesday.
In all, more than 1,000 troops and 150 pieces of military hardware will take part in the exercise, the press center said.
"The participants will use armored hardware (tanks, armored personnel carriers, infantry fighting vehicles, and Tigr special transport vehicles), flamethrowers, artillery, including multiple launch rocket systems, and aviation - [Sukhoi] Su-30SM fighter jets, Su-25 assault planes, and [Mil] Mi-8 helicopters," it said.
The main objectives of the Rubezh 2021 exercise include further developing practical skills to organize military action and coordinate forces and bolstering the cohesion of units of the Collective Rapid Reaction Forces of the CSTO's Central Asian collective security region during joint operations, it said.
"The participants in the maneuvers will practice preparing and conducting military operations of the Collective Rapid Reaction Forces of the CSTO's Central Asian collective security region to eliminate illegal armed formations invading the territory of a CSTO member state," the press center said.