The authorities in Minsk have consistently emphasised that these are not exercises, but a real control of the army's ability to act in crisis and war conditions. The key thing here is that the test is sudden, rotational and includes both line units and logistics facilities, personnel reserves and the command system. The full thing is taking place under the individual supervision of Alyaksandr Lukashenko, who deliberately bypasses the classical decision-making chain of the Ministry of Defence.
