Russian paratroopers and units of allied regional armies started to arrive in Kazakhstan on Thursday after the country’s president appealed for help in putting down protests that have led to dozens being killed in clashes with police.
Limited units of Russian paratroopers, plus military contingents from Armenia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, were sent as a peacekeeping force at the request of President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to the Collective Security Treaty Organization, a Russia-led military alliance.
A video shared by Russia’s defence ministry on Thursday showed several soldiers boarding a military plane that then took off for Kazakhstan. The alliance’s troops will focus on “protecting important state and military facilities, and assisting Kazakh law enforcement in stabilising the situation”, a statement by the alliance said.