Foreign delegations view Russian weapons at “Tsentr-2026” exercises
Version 2: New reporting adds a weapons exhibition attended by foreign delegations and a Defence Ministry breakdown of participants, confirming 41 participating states while leaving Belousov’s earlier figures of almost 60 states, seven contingent countries and 51 observer states unreconciled with the ministry’s figures.
In short
Russia’s strategic command-staff exercises “Tsentr-2026” have drawn foreign military representatives, who visited an exhibition of new Russian weapons and watched troop actions at the Chebarkulsky polygon in the Chelyabinsk region, the Defence Ministry said, according to Interfax. Deputy Defence Minister Yunus-Bek Yevkurov told President Vladimir Putin that special attention was paid to organising and using foreign contingents, while Defence Minister Andrei Belousov said almost 60 states took part. TASS and the Defence Ministry, as cited by Interfax, put the number of participating states at 41.
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Russia’s strategic command-staff exercises “Tsentr-2026” have drawn foreign military representatives, who visited an exhibition of new Russian weapons and watched troop actions at the Chebarkulsky polygon in the Chelyabinsk region, the Russian Defence Ministry said, according to Interfax. [ 3 ]
The ministry said about 200 representatives of defence ministry leadership, the military-diplomatic corps and observers from 69 foreign states visited the display of newest and prospective Russian weapons, military and special equipment. Foreign guests also had the opportunity to observe practical actions by units of the Russian Armed Forces and foreign military contingents as part of a coalition grouping of troops during the main stage of the exercise, the ministry said. [ 3 ]
According to the ministry, cited by Interfax, representatives of 41 states took part in the exercise. Six states — Belarus, China, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Pakistan and Tajikistan — sent military contingents, Kazakhstan and Congo were represented as operational groups, and 33 states were represented by observers, the ministry said. TASS separately reported that representatives of 41 states took part and that Russian military personnel shared experience with foreign delegations. [ 2 , 3 ]
Earlier, Deputy Defence Minister Yunus-Bek Yevkurov told President Vladimir Putin that special attention during the exercise was paid to organising, deploying and applying the forces of foreign contingents, Vedomosti reported. Defence Minister Andrei Belousov said representatives of almost 60 states were taking part, along with CSTO collective security forces, with seven countries sending military contingents, Congo’s defence ministry represented by an operational group and 51 states sending observers. [ 1 ]
The documents do not explain the differences between Belousov’s figures and those later given by the Defence Ministry. Vedomosti said the seven countries that sent contingents were not named, while Interfax, citing the ministry, names six. [ 1 , 3 ]
Putin, who visited the polygon on 2 October and observed a stage of the exercise, said the main goal is to improve the skills of command staff in controlling troops while repelling external aggression, and that participants use new weapons and equipment in practice, with all tasks set taking into account the experience of the special operation, Vedomosti reported. [ 1 ]
Exercises with military personnel from CSTO countries began in Russia on 27 September, with the joint command-staff and special exercises “Vzaimodeistvie-2026”, “Poisk-2026” and “Eshelon-2026” held at the Chebarkulsky polygon. Interfax said contingents from Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan took part in the CSTO collective rapid reaction forces exercise “Vzaimodeistvie-2026”. RIA Novosti reported that foreign delegates inspected the newest weapons. [ 1 , 3 , 4 ]
Why it matters
The exercises bring together forces from CSTO members and other states around Russian command structures, and documents present the foreign turnout as a measure of continued military cooperation. The stated focus on repelling external aggression and applying experience from the special operation places the drills in the context of Russia’s ongoing war, though no operational results are given.
Key facts
- Foreign military representatives took part in the strategic command-staff exercises “Tsentr-2026”. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ]
- The Russian Defence Ministry said about 200 representatives of foreign defence ministries, the military-diplomatic corps and observers from 69 states visited an exhibition of Russian weapons at the Chebarkulsky polygon. [ 3 ]
- The ministry said 41 states took part in the exercise; TASS reported the same figure. [ 2 , 3 ]
- According to the ministry, cited by Interfax, Belarus, China, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Pakistan and Tajikistan sent military contingents, while Kazakhstan and Congo were represented by operational groups and 33 states sent observers. [ 3 ]
- Deputy Defence Minister Yunus-Bek Yevkurov told President Vladimir Putin that special attention was paid to organising, deploying and applying the forces of foreign contingents, Vedomosti reported. [ 1 ]
- Defence Minister Andrei Belousov said representatives of almost 60 states were taking part, including CSTO collective security forces, and that seven countries sent contingents while 51 states sent observers. [ 1 ]
- Putin said the main goal is to improve command staff skills in controlling troops while repelling external aggression, with participants using new weapons and equipment and taking into account the experience of the special operation. [ 1 ]
- Exercises with military personnel from CSTO countries began in Russia on 27 September, with the joint command-staff and special exercises “Vzaimodeistvie-2026”, “Poisk-2026” and “Eshelon-2026” held at the Chebarkulsky polygon. [ 1 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- Foreign military representatives took part in the “Tsentr-2026” exercises. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ]
- The Russian Defence Ministry said representatives of 41 states took part in the exercise. [ 2 , 3 ]
- Foreign delegations viewed an exhibition of Russian weapons and observed troop actions at the Chebarkulsky polygon in the Chelyabinsk region. [ 3 , 4 ]
Still unclear
- The number of states taking part in the exercises. Belousov is quoted by Vedomosti as saying almost 60 states, while TASS and the Defence Ministry, as cited by Interfax, say 41 states; Interfax also reports that observers from 69 foreign states visited the weapons exhibition. The documents do not explain the differences.
- Which countries sent military contingents. Vedomosti says seven countries sent contingents but does not name them; Interfax, citing the Defence Ministry, names six: Belarus, China, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Pakistan and Tajikistan.
- The number of states represented by observers. Belousov is quoted as saying 51 states sent observers, while Interfax, citing the Defence Ministry, names 33 observer states.
What local media are saying
Timeline, local time
- Exercises with military personnel from CSTO countries begin in Russia; the joint command-staff and special exercises “Vzaimodeistvie-2026”, “Poisk-2026” and “Eshelon-2026” are held at the Chebarkulsky polygon. [ 1 ]
- President Vladimir Putin visits the Chebarkulsky polygon and observes a stage of the strategic command-staff exercises. [ 1 ]
- Vedomosti reports Yevkurov’s and Belousov’s statements on foreign contingents and Putin’s comments on the purpose of the exercises. [ 1 ]
- TASS reports that Russian military personnel shared experience with foreign delegations and that representatives of 41 states took part. [ 2 ]
- Interfax reports that foreign defence delegations visited an exhibition of new Russian weapons and observed the main stage at the Chebarkulsky polygon, citing the Defence Ministry. [ 3 ]
- RIA Novosti reports that foreign delegates inspected the newest weapons at the exercises. [ 4 ]