Russia-led bloc to hold nuclear emergency response drill in Belarus

July 25, BPN. Rescuers from the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) will arrive in Belarus in early September to participate in the Rock 2023 drill to practice responses to a nuclear accident, the Belarusian emergencies minister told the Belarus 1 TV channel.

The theme of the drill is “an emergency at a nuclear facility involving the deployment of CSTO forces,” Vadzim Siniaŭski said, noting that rescuers will work together with Belarusian authorities and the military.

The CSTO is a military-political alliance whose declared goals are strengthening peace, international and regional security and stability, protecting independence, territorial integrity and sovereignty of its member states. It consists of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan.