Russian troops arrive for week-long war games in Serbia

Three Russian Il-76 transport planes on Wednesday brought 212 soldiers from the country's Airborne Troops (VDV) to Serbia.
Source: B92, Sputnik Wednesday, November 2, 2016 | 15:25

VDV soldiers at Batajnica (Tanjug)

They were accompanied by 56 Belarus troops who will, together with 450 Serbian soldiers, take part in the Slavic Brotherhood military exercise November 3-9.
"More than 150 military servicemen from the Separate Reconnaissance Battalion of Russia’s Ivanovo Airborne Division and around 50 paratroopers from the Vitebsk Brigade Peacekeeping Unit of Belarus’s Special Operations Forces have arrived in three Ilyushin Il-76MD planes at the Batajnica air base located 25 kilometers from Serbia’s capital of Belgrade," the Russian Defense Ministry announced on Wednesday.

The Russians brought with them three BMD-2 armored vehicles, a Tachyon drone, and four ATVs.

One of the three Il-76s at Batajnica (Tanjug)

According to earlier announcements, the goal of the exercise is to improve operative abilities in solving tactical and combat tasks pertaining to anti-terrorist operations in a multinational environment.

The drills will be taking place at the automated Oresac Ranges, the Pasuljanske Livade Ranges, and Kovin and Batajnica airports.

The VDV Ensemble has also arrived in Serbia and will, together with the Serbian MoD's art ensemble named after Stanislav Binicki, perform on November 6 in Nis and in Pancevo on November 13.

The first three-nation Slavic Brotherhood exercise was held last year near Novorossiysk in the Russian Federation.

The Serbian Ministry of Defense has posted video footage online showing the arrival and the welcome given to the Russian and Belarus soldiers at the Batajnica airport near Belgrade: