Zapad-2021 Strategic-Operational exercise – ORBAT

The purpose of this blog post is to provide an up-to-date order of battle data of Russian and Belarusian units that took part in Zapad-2021. Due to the nature of the exercise, its sheer size and the nature of the Belarusian and Russian regimes (secrecy), the list is unlikely to be exhaustive. Our goal is to identify all combat units and where possible logistics, combat support, and command and control.

This post will be continuously updated as new information comes in.

Units at training ranges in Belarus:

Elements of the 76th Air Assult Division, possibly a BTG from the 104th Regiment, are in Belarus. But we don’t know where exactly (Baranovichi?)

  • Units at Brest Training Range
    • Elements (company) of the 15th Motor Rifle Regiment, 2nd Motor Rifle Division (Russia)
    • Elements (company) of the 147th Artillery Regiment, 2nd Motor Rifle Division (Russia) – This location is not confirmed
    • Elements of the 45th Spetsnaz Brigade (Russia)
    • CTG/BTG from the 6th Mechanised Brigade (Belarus)
    • Elements of the 85th Communications Brigade (Belarus)
    • Elements of the 86th Communications Brigade (Belarus)
    • Elements of the 74th Communications Regiment (Belarus)
  • Units at the 230th Combined Arms Training Range, Baranovichi
    • Elements of the 1088th Logistics Support Battalion, 4th Tank Division (Russia)
    • Elements of the 69th Logistics Brigade, 1st Guards Tank Army (Russia)
    • Elements of the 275th Artillery Regiment, 4th Tank Division (Russia)
    • Elements of the 60th Command (C4I) Brigade (Russia) – Previously marked as deployed to Brest
    • One reinforced (or possibly two) battalion tactical group, 4th Tank Division (Russia) (We are hearing that Russian presence is larger than just 1-2 BTGs, but this information needs to be verified)
    • Elements of the 96th Reconnaissance Brigade (Russia)
    • Elements of the 20th NCB Regiment, 1st Guards Tank Army (Russia)
    • Two battalions from the 111th Artillery Brigade (Belarus)
    • BTG from the 11th Mechanised Brigade (Belarus)
    • Elements of the 83rd Special Purpose Radio Communication Center (Belarus)
    • Elements of the 557th Engineering Brigade (Belarus)
    • Elements from the 2657th Fuel Storage Base (Belarus)
    • Elements from the 3540th Food Storage Base (Belarus)
    • Elements from the 1134th Medical Clinical Centre of the Belarusian Armed Forces (Belarus)
    • Probably elements of the 108th Logistics Support Regiment (Belarus)
    • Elements of the 127th Communications Brigade (Territorial) (Belarus)
    • Elements of the 188th Engineering Brigade (Belarus)
    • Elements of the 2nd Engineering Brigade (Belarus)
  • Units at the Baranovichi Air Base
    • Elements of the 15th Helicopter Army Aviation Brigade (Russia) (Mi-8, Mi-26, Ka-52)
    • Three (?) Su-30SMs from the 14th Fighter Aviation Regiment Khalino, Kursk (Russia)
    • 61st Fighter Aviation Base (Belarus) (Mig-29s, Su-30SMs)
  • Units in Grodno – The city was not officially listed as one of the places where ‘Zapad’ would be held, but Russian deployments there before the exercise are too much of a coincidence
    • Elements of the 210th Air Defence Regiment (2 x S-300PM2 TEL) (Russia)
  • 174th Air Force and Air Defence Forces Training Range, Domanovsky
    • Elements of the 56th Communications Regiment (Belarus)
    • A SAM battery from the 377th Air Defence Regiment (Belarus)

The following Belarusian units (or their elements) are also involved in pre-Zapad exercises:

  • 30th Railway Brigade – They set up a new railway brigade on their training ground near Sluck
  • 65th Automobile Brigade (unclear where the unit is deployed)
  • 742nd Field Communications Centre (unclear where the unit is deployed)
  • 2766th Fuel Storage Base (unclear where the unit is deployed)
  • 2780th Fuel Storage Base (unclear where the unit is deployed)
  • 2783rd Armored Equipment Storage and Utilisation Base – This facility received supplies from Russian storage facilities in mid-August.
  • 1068th Food Storage Base (unclear where the unit is deployed)
  • 2335th Medical Equipment Storage Base (unclear where the unit is deployed)
  • 62nd Central Communications Centre of the Belarusian MoD (unclear where the unit is deployed)
  • 48th Independent Electronic Warfare Battalion (unclear where the unit is deployed)

Units at training ranges in the Russian Federation:

  • Gorokhovets (Mulino) Training Range
    • A BTG from the 90th Tank Division (Russia)
    • A BTG from the 74th Motor Rifle Brigade (Russia)
    • A CTG/BTG from the 20th CBRN Regiment (Russia)
    • A CTG/BTG from the 6th CBRN Regiment (Russia)
    • A BTG from the 27th Motor Rifle Brigade (Russia)
    • Three BTGs from the 20th CAA (Russia)
    • A BTG from the 27th Motor Rifle Brigade (Russia)
    • A BTG from the 4th Tank Division (Russia)
    • At least an artillery squadron from the 45th High-power Artillery Brigade (Russia)
    • A BTG from the 31st Air Assult Brigade (Russia)
    • A BTG from the 19th Mechanised Brigade (Belarus)
    • Elements of the 60th Communications Regiment (Belarus)
    • Elements of the 814th Technical Support Centre (Belarus)
  • The Kaliningrad Oblast (We are not specifying, which ranges units have gone to yet)
    • Elements of the 336th Naval Infantry Brigade (Russia)
    • Elements of the 61st Naval Infantry Brigade (Russia)
    • A BTG from the 76th Air Assault Division (234th Reg?)(Russia)
    • Elements of the 328th Independent EW Battalion (Russia)
    • 689th Guards Fighter Regiment (Russia)
    • 4th Guards Naval Assault Aviation Regiment (Russia)
    • 396th Mixed Helicopter Regiment (Russia)
  • Ivanovo
    • Elements (probably BTG) of the 98th Airborne Division (Russia)
    • Elements (probably BTG) of the 5th Spetsnaz Brigade (Belarus)
  • Novaya Lyada
    • At least one 2S7 artillery battery of the 45th High-power Artillery Brigade (Russia)
    • Possibly a BM-30 battery of the 79th Multiple Rocket Launcher Brigade (Russia) – It is possible that these two subunits have moved to Gorokhovets
  • Strugi Krasnye
    • A reinforced BTG from the 234th Air Assault Regiment, 76th Air Assault Division (Russia)
  • Reserve and mobilisation components
    • A Cossack company from the Don Republic has been moved to Kaliningrad
  • 185th Centre for Combat Use and Combat Mission of the Aerospace Forces, Ashuluk – It should be noted that some of these subunits are also taking part in the ‘Combat Commonwealth – 2021’ exercise in Ashuluk
    • One battery from the 1st Air Defence Regiment (S-300PS) (Belarus)
    • Elements of the 15th Air Defence Brigade (S-300PS/PT) (Belarus)
    • Elements of the 120th Air Defence Brigade (9K37 Buk) (Belarus)
    • Elements from the 1562nd Air Defence Missile Technical Base (Belarus)
    • 61st Fighter Avaition Base (Unclear number of Su-30SMs) (Belarus)
    • Elements of the yet unidentified air defence regiment from Saint Petersburg Elements of the 1490th Air Defence Regiment (S-400) (Russia)
  • 10th State Testing Ground, Sary-Shagan, Kazakhstan
    •  Elements of the 25th Missile and Artillery Armament Depot (Belarus)
    • Elements of the 1562nd Missile Technical Base (Belarus)
    • Elements of the 31st Navigation and Topographic Centre (Belarus)
    • Elements of the 48th Independent Electronic Warfare Battalion (Belarus)
    • Elements of the 336th Reactive Artillery Brigade (B-200 Polonez, BM-30 Smerch) (Belarus)
    • Elements of the 465th Missile Brigade (Tochka-U) (Belarus)
    • Elements of the 927th National Centre for Training & Use of Unmanned Aerial Systems (Belarus)
    • Elements of the 85th Communications Brigade (Belarus)
    • Elements of the 62nd Central Communications Centre of the Belarusian MoD (Belarus)
  • Units that are involved in Zapad-2021, but are not presumably deployed at any of the abovementioned traning ranges
    • 6th Engineer-Sapper Regiment (Russia)
    • 9th Command (C4I) Brigade (Russia)
    • 45th Engineer-Sapper Brigade (Russia)
    • 5th Repair-Evacuation Regiment (Russia)
    • 38th Independent Railway Troops Brigade (Russia)
    • 16th Electronic Warfare Brigade (Russia)
    • 9th (?) Artillery Brigade (Russia)

CTG – company tactical group

BTG – battalion tactical group

Big thanks to Obronny, who has helped with the Belarusian side of ORBAT. He is an invaluable source for everything that is going on in Belarus.

Konrad Muzyka