Forty Russian Air Force aircraft delivered Russian peacekeepers from CSTO forces from Kazakhstan to military airfields in the Moscow and Ulyanovsk regions overnight, the Russian Defense Ministry reported.
"Forty Russian Air Force military transport aircraft delivered Russian peacekeepers from the CSTO Collective Peacekeeping Forces from the Republic of Kazakhstan to military airfields in the Moscow and Ulyanovsk regions over the past 24 hours," the report said.
It is noted that a solemn meeting of peacekeepers with the participation of command of the airborne troops and the Ulyanovsk airborne troop unit was organized at the airfields. After solemn meetings, peacekeepers unloaded armament, military equipment, property and went on marches to the permanent bases.
Mass protests in Kazakhstan began in the first days of 2022 - residents of the western cities of Zhanaozen and Aktau protested against the doubled price of liquefied gas. Prices were reduced, but the protests continued and spread to other cities, including Almaty, the old capital and the largest city of the republic: looting began there, militants attacked state institutions, took away weapons. In response, the authorities imposed a state of emergency throughout the country and launched an anti-terrorist operation.
On the morning of January 5, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev dismissed the government and chaired the Security Council. At the first meeting of the Security Council under his leadership, Tokayev described the situation in Kazakhstan as undermining the integrity of the state and said that he had asked for help from the CSTO "in overcoming the terrorist threat".
The CSTO Collective Security Council decided to send collective peacekeeping forces to Kazakhstan to normalize the situation in the country. On Thursday, January 13, it was announced that the CSTO mission had been successfully completed and the peacekeepers began to return home from Kazakhstan.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation
Based on materials from RIA Novosti