Union Shield – 2011 (Russian: Щит Союза – 2011) was a joint Russian-Belarusian military exercise that took place from 16 to 22 September 2011.
The Belarusian part were led by Maj-Gen Pyotr Tikhonovsky, Chief of the General Staff, First Deputy Defence Minister of Belarus.
[4] According to the official information, the exercise was aimed at improving combat readiness of the Belarus-Russian regional joint force, as well as raising interoperability between commanders, staffs and units of the two countries.
Participating in the manoeuvres, the cadets had an opportunity both to solidify their theoretical knowledge and get practice in exercising command and control over units, which they were assigned to.
He also noted that Russia and Ukraine participate in the annual joint naval exercise Farvater Mira (Fairway of Peace) and it's time for two countries to go to a new level of co-operation.