Recently, there was a large-scale riot in Kazakhstan, at the request of President Tokayev, on January 6, CSTO sent a peacekeeping force, now the situation has stabilized, their mission has been completed, and started to withdraw.
According to Tokayev’s statement, from January 13, the phased withdrawal of CSTO peacekeepers will begin and will end within 10 days. The first collective peacekeeping mission was completed in 6 days, which military unit did CSTO send to Kazakhstan?
Quick response by CSTO
On January 5, Kazakhstan fell into a state of emergency and President Tokayev announced on the morning of January 6 that he had sought assistance from the CSTO to “overcome the threat of terrorism”.
Right on January 6, the Council of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) approved a resolution to send a collective peacekeeping force to Kazakhstan to quickly stabilize the situation. According to Russian media, this is the first time the CSTO has carried out a collective “peacekeeping operation”.
The CSTO is a military organization established by the concerned countries in the Commonwealth of Independent States of the CIS after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. It was formerly known as the “Collective Security Treaty” and was changed to the “Collective Security Treaty Organization” (CSTO) in 2002.
The creation of the CSTO and the nature of its military alliance, which was accepted by the United Nations in 2004 and granted the CSTO observer status in the United Nations General Assembly, truly marks the organization This is internationally recognized. Current member countries include Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.
More than 70 aircraft transported around the clock
On the day of the adoption of the resolution, the Russian airborne detachment arrived in Kazakhstan as a vanguard, carrying light weapons and trucks, deployed at Almaty airport to carry out missions. ensure the rapid and safe deployment of CSTO peacekeeping forces with heavy equipment such as airborne combat vehicles and combat vehicles.
According to research, the entire Russian army can mobilize nearly 120 Il-76 aircraft, and this mobilization amount has accounted for more than half of them. Russian military transport aircraft are also involved in transporting peacekeepers from other CSTO member states to Kazakhstan. On January 7, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Konashenkov said that more than 70 Il-76 military transport planes and five An-124s have formed an air force formation from the airports of three Moscow provinces, Ivanovo and Ulyanovsk, transporting CSTO peacekeepers to Kazakhstan around the clock.
CSTO Backbone: Russian paratroopers
A spokesman for the Russian Defense Ministry emphasized that the Russian peacekeeping force includes the 45th Independent Special Operations Brigade, the 31st Guards Airborne Brigade and the No. 98. All service members have received special training and actual combat experience.
According to the Rossiyskaya Gazeta in August 2021, the total force of the Russian airborne forces is more than 45,000 soldiers, with the core equipment being parachute combat vehicles, amphibious armored personnel carriers, and armored personnel carriers, anti-tank missile systems, self-propelled anti-tank guns and 120 mm self-propelled guns.
Among them, the 45th Special Forces Brigade has a lot of experience in fighting abroad. The 31st Guards Airborne Raid Brigade is equipped with more than 100 BMD-2 airborne combat vehicles, nearly 60 BTR-D crawler air transport vehicles and dozens of D-30 howitzers.
The 98th Ranger Division participated in the Great Patriotic War, the Chechen War and the Russian-Georgian military conflict, equipped with more than 200 vehicles of various types, with very strong combat power.
According to an image released by the Russian Defense Ministry, on January 8, the main force of the Russian peacekeeping force landed a military transport plane from the Chkalov Air Base near Moscow and the Ulyanovsk Oblast airport. Kazakhstan with SPM – 2 Tiger armored vehicles and military trucks loaded onto Il-76 military transport planes.
Equipment and personnel such as BMD-4M amphibious assault vehicle, SPM – 2 Tiger armored vehicle, BTR-82A wheeled armored vehicle, satellite communication station and radio-electronic countermeasure complex are provided. Dismantled in just a few minutes, then peacekeepers quickly moved to the deployment site.
From the Soviet Union to present-day Russia, paratroopers have always assumed the role of “firefighter”, this mission characteristic that determines the core of their equipment is “high mobility, ease of deployment and firepower, strong force”.
The BMD-4M is the latest model in the family of Russian paratroopers, which can practice dropping vehicles and parachuting with people, when they hit the ground, they can fight immediately.
At the same time outstanding firepower, in addition to the 30mm machine gun and the RPK coaxial machine gun, it is also equipped with a 100mm main cannon, which can launch rockets and a 30mm AGS-30 grenade launcher, capable of simultaneously against a variety of targets in multiple directions. The BMD-4M is a well-equipped parachute tank.
In addition to the BMD-4M amphibious assault vehicle, the Russian army deployed this time is all mature equipment that has been around for many years, although it does not seem to be “elite”, but it is specialized equipment to deal with unexpected situations.
For example, the SPM – 2 Tiger is a light armored vehicle specially developed by Russia for the rapid transport of personnel and certain fire support. With a powerful engine and a moderate size, it can be equipped with a variety of weapons according to different needs, which is very suitable for rapid deployment to carry out anti-terrorism and peacekeeping missions. average in the city.
All CSTO member states participated in the peacekeeping operation, completed their missions and prepared to withdraw According to Rossiyskaya Gazeta, all CSTO member states are involved in mobilizing more than 3,000 troops to join the peacekeeping force, mainly Russia, Belarus 500 soldiers, Tajikistan 200 soldiers, Armenia soldiers and Kyrgyzstan 150 soldiers.
The commander-in-chief of the CSTO peacekeeping force is General Serdyukov, the commander of the Russian Special Forces with rich experience through the two wars in Chechnya and in the Syrian battlefield.
After the end of the peacekeeping operation, the peacekeepers will be withdrawn from Kazakhstan. According to the resolution of the CSTO Council, this is a short-term deployment of peacekeepers, the specific time of how many days or weeks will depend on the change of the situation in Kazakhstan and the decision of President Kazakhstan Tokayev.
On January 11, Kazakh President Tokayev attended the plenary meeting of Magilis (Kazakhstan House of Representatives) via television.
He said that the difficult period of counter-terrorism in Kazakhstan is over and the most dangerous situation has been removed. Currently, the situation in all regions has become more and more stable, the main tasks of the CSTO peacekeeping force have been successfully completed.
A phased withdrawal from Kazakhstan will begin in two days, the entire withdrawal will last no more than 10 days.