Units of CSTO peacekeepers from Armenia, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan have left Almaty for their permanent bases, a TASS correspondent said on Friday.
Units from Armenia loaded their vehicles and personnel into three Il-76 military transport aircraft of the Russian Air Force and flew from the Almaty airfield.
The Tajik servicemen flew aboard one Russian IL-76, taking their cadets, who were studying at military educational institutions of Kazakhstan, along for the vacation.
Kyrgyz peacekeepers left the territory of Almaty's TPS-2, which they guarded, in their own convoy towards the border of their country. They will have to cover about 250 kilometers to the territory of Kyrgyzstan. The convoy also includes Dajiang armored vehicles.
In accordance with the decision of the CSTO Collective Security Council, adopted on January 6, 2022, collective peacekeeping forces were sent to Kazakhstan for a limited period of time to stabilize and normalize the situation. The grouping included units of the armed forces of Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. The main task of the Russian units was to take under protection the main strategic facilities in the vicinity of Almaty.
On January 13, 2022, the gradual withdrawal of the peacekeeping contingent from the territory of Kazakhstan began and will last several days. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the first units of Russian paratroopers from the CSTO peacekeeping forces returned from Kazakhstan to Russia on Thursday on four Il-76MD aircraft.
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Photo: Stanislav Krasilnikov/TASS
Based on materials from TASS