MINSK. April 12 (Interfax) - Top officials of the Belarusian Defense Ministry and the Belarusian Security Council's State Secretariat are inspecting an exercise involving the Minsk region's territorial defense forces, the BelTA state-run news agency said on Wednesday.
"Security Council State Secretary Alexander Volfovich, Defense Minister Viktor Khrenin and Minsk Region Executive Committee Chairman Alexander Turchin inspect the exercise," BelTA said.
They visited the base of territorial defense forces and familiarized themselves with the territorial defense troops' equipment and living conditions, it said.
The inspection of the readiness level of the Minsk region's territorial defense led by Belarusian General Staff Chief, Deputy Defense Minister Viktor Gulevich has been underway in the Minsk region's Borisovsky district since March 20, it said.
The inspection will assess the work of officials of the region's and the Borisovsky district's executive committees to lead a territorial troops formation and to achieve combat training tasks. The military units of the territorial forces will drill protecting vital infrastructure and enforcing martial law together with law enforcement agencies.
It was reported earlier that an infantry battalion composed of reservists was formed in the Borisovsky district as part of the territorial defense inspection. "People liable for military service will need to refresh their skills of handling weapons, learn new combat techniques, and also undergo combat shakedown," the Belarusian Defense Ministry said in a statement.
The territorial defense inspection will end with a command post exercise.