Photo: Sputnik

MILEX-2023 hosted the latest in post-Soviet military technology to key stakeholders in the Belarussian, Russian, and Chinese defense sector. This included representatives from the respective nations’ defense ministries, state-owned defense manufacturers, and commercial defense contractors.

Belarus has no true weapons production capacity of its own and instead focuses on updating existing Soviet hardware. Therefore, Belarus will likely be selling its maintenance tech to a Russian audience considering its usage in Ukraine, Syria, and the Sahel. Russian and Chinese defense manufacturers will be simultaneously attempting to sell new hardware like air defense systems, missiles, drones, and tanks to Belarus.

Expect MILEX-2023 to serve as a guise for Russian equipment movements in expectation of Ukraine’s armored counteroffensive. Russia has previously used Belarus as a staging ground for attacks on western Ukraine, and the expo provides excellent cover for equipment movement.

With Ukraine gearing up for a push to retake occupied territory with newly imported equipment, Russia must establish a deterrence in the event such a counteroffensive reaches Crimea. Recent Ukrainian air defense operation improvements have made missile barrages on Kyiv less effective, however an armored column to Kyiv may prove a good replacement.