13:53, 24 декабря 2021, Bishkek - 24.kg news agency , Aibek SULTANOV
Russian military bases in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan are a «combat vanguard» in the southern direction. Alexander Lapin, commander of the troops of the Central Military District (CMD), said, Interfax reports.
«It is a kind of coalition shield and a weighty deterrent for terrorists and extremists staying on the territories of neighboring states,» Alexander Lapin said in an interview with the Russian Defense Ministry’s newspaper Krasnaya Zvezda.
He specifies that if a military threat to the national security of Russia and its allies arises, units of these bases «will be the first to take on the brunt of the developing situation.»
«Russian military bases in Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan are the most important component of the Collective Forces of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) in Central Asia. That is why close attention is paid to their combat readiness, rearmament and infrastructure development,» Alexander Lapin added.
The Russian military bases are manned only by experienced officers and contract servicemen.
The 201st military base stationed in Tajikistan is the largest military facility of Russia outside Russia (part of the Central Military District). It is located in Dushanbe and Bokhtar. It includes motorized rifle, tank, artillery, reconnaissance, air defense, radiological, chemical, biological-warfare and communication units.
According to the commander of the Central Military District, in 2020 the Kant airbase received two landing and transport helicopters Mi-8MTV5-1. Su-25SM attack aircraft underwent planned replacement and modernization.
«This year the airbase received an upgraded radar station 1RL131 and VIP177M3 portable indicator post, which made it possible to increase the ability to target assault aircraft more than 2.5 times and to carry out continuous airspace control,» Alexander Lapin said.