Two contract soldiers of the Russian Airborne Forces crashed during an exercise in the area of Belarusian Grodno 
Two Russian servicemen crashed during a joint exercise in Belarus with reference to the Department of Information and Mass Communications of the Ministry of Defense of Russia.
The domes went out
The men served under contract and were highly qualified instructors of parachute training. On Friday, November 12, units of the Russian Airborne Forces (Airborne Forces) landed on an unfamiliar site in the Grodno region. “The domes of both parachutists went out,” the department noted.
Due to a sudden strong gust of wind near the ground, the parachutes descended.
Ministry of Defense of RussiaOn the circumstances of the death of contract soldiers
One of the paratroopers tried to save both of them and stop the fall. The contractor released a reserve parachute, however, due to insufficient altitude, the system did not have time to work. A hard landing followed. Both paratroopers received numerous injuries and were hospitalized. Doctors helped them, but the men died. Details of the deaths of servicemen are being established.
Despite the efforts of the doctors, both contractual Russian servicemen died from their injuries.
Russian Ministry of Defense on the death of paratroopers in Belarus Russian-Belarusian exercises
About 250 people took part in the maneuvers, Il-76 aircraft of the Russian military transport aviation, as well as helicopters of the Air Force and Air Defense Forces of Belarus .
Earlier on the same day, the paratroopers of the two countries landed at the Gozhsky training ground in the Grodno region as part of an inspection of the reaction forces of the Union State. They carried out a conditional seizure and hold of the bridgehead, set the task for the military to find and destroy conditional enemy sabotage and reconnaissance groups and illegal armed formations. After the exercises, the soldiers returned to their permanent deployment points.
NATO activity near the borders
The joint exercises between Russia and a neighboring state are caused by NATO activity near the borders of Belarus. Poland sent 15 thousand troops, air defense systems, tanks and other heavy weapons to the border with Belarus.
British soldiers also arrived at the Polish-Belarusian border. As noted in the Ministry of Defense of the country, the British engineering troops will cooperate with the Polish army to strengthen the barriers.
Prior to that, Russia and Belarus held large exercises “West-2021” from 10 to 15 September. According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, about 200 thousand soldiers from the two countries took part in them, up to 760 pieces of equipment and 15 ships. Joint strategic exercises are a planned event and are held every two years in accordance with the decision of the presidents of the two states.
New exercises
In October, Moscow and Minsk agreed to continue to strengthen bilateral cooperation in the defense sphere and planned 139 events to ensure the security of the two countries until 2024.
The most ambitious event will be the Union Shield exercise “. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu explained that usually joint exercises are held once every two years: on the territory of Belarus they are called “West”, and “Shield of the Union” – in Russia.