More than 5,000 service members and over 1,000 pieces of equipment will take part in a series of joint drills organized by the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) in autumn 2026. Chief of the CSTO Joint Staff Colonel General Andrey Serdyukov said the forces involved are fully prepared for the upcoming exercises.

The main event will be the Interaction-2026 command-and-staff exercise, scheduled for late September at a training ground of Russia’s Central Military District. The drills will involve the Collective Rapid Reaction Forces, with the main focus placed on coordinating multinational contingents while taking into account the experience of modern combat operations in the special military operation zone.

Two other exercises will precede the main stage. Search-2026 will focus on reconnaissance tasks, while Echelon-2026 will cover logistics support. Foreign observers have also been invited to follow the maneuvers.

Another major exercise will take place in Kazakhstan in the second ten-day period of September. The Rubezh-2026 drills involving the Collective Rapid Deployment Forces will be held at the Koktal training ground and synchronized with the Decisive Response-2026 exercise. Border guard and national guard units will train coordinated operations in mountainous and desert terrain.

The program will continue in Belarus in mid-October. The Losvido training ground will host the Indestructible Brotherhood-2026 peacekeeping exercise, involving aviation, engineering units, drone crews, a medical detachment, as well as personnel from the Belarusian Emergency Situations Ministry and Interior Ministry.

At the same time, the Barrier-2026 exercise will be held at the Starodorozhsky training ground and will focus on responding to biological threats. For the first time, a video link will connect medics in the field directly with the Kirov Military Medical Academy, allowing them to receive specialist consultations, according to Rossiyskaya Gazeta.

The drills will also include demonstrations of modern weapons and specialized equipment. Unmanned and robotic systems, electronic warfare equipment and air defense systems whose effectiveness has been confirmed during the special military operation will be presented. Research activities are also planned at the training sites.

Personnel and equipment will be moved to the exercise areas by military transport aircraft, rail and road.

Serdyukov stressed that the entire series of maneuvers is being conducted according to an approved plan. The CSTO said the exercises, including those in Belarus, are not directed against third countries and are intended to strengthen the collective security of the organization’s member states.