Russian and Uzbek armies begin joint exercises along the border with Afghanistan – EURACTIV.com

Armies from Russia and Uzbekistan began a joint military exercise near the border with Afghanistan on Monday (August 2), because both countries are worried that the deterioration of the security situation in Afghanistan may spread to Central Asia.

According to the TASS news agency, Russia stated that 1,500 Russian and Uzbek troops will participate in the five-day exercise at the Termez military base in Uzbekistan.

Moscow said it would send a larger military contingent to Tajikistan to conduct a separate trilateral exercise, which shows how much Moscow attaches importance to potential threats from Afghanistan.

These separate exercises are expected to take place from August 5th to 10th and will involve the Russian, Tajikistani and Uzbek forces. Uzbekistan said on Monday that its troops had arrived in Tajikistan.

With the withdrawal of the United States, the security situation in Afghanistan has rapidly deteriorated. Moscow fears that this may destabilize its southern defensive flank and push refugees into its central Asian backyard.

On Monday, the Russian Ministry of Defense stated that 1,800 soldiers will participate in the exercise in Tajikistan instead of the 1,000 originally planned. It said that a total of more than 2,500 soldiers will participate.

Moscow will also use 420 pieces of military equipment in the exercise, which is twice the number originally planned.

The Tajikistan Ministry of Defense stated in a statement that the exercise will involve more than 300 armored vehicles, 25 combat and transport helicopters, and an unknown number of fighters, bombers, and artillery.

It said: “The purpose of the exercise is to effectively test the military’s combat capability under unstable border conditions.”