International CSTO anti-drug exercise Thunder 2019 have begun in the Kyrgyz Republic.

International tactical and special exercise Thunder 2019 began on August 6, 2019, at the Edelweiss firing range (Balykchy, Issyk-Kul oblast’) of the Armed Forces of the Kyrgyz Republic. The exercise involves special units of the anti-drug services, which are part of the Special Forces Unit of the Collective Rapid Response Force of the CSTO. They are conducted in accordance with the Joint Activities and Combat Training Plan of the CSTO Collective Forces, as well as the Priority Realization Plan of the Kyrgyz Republic during its CSTO presidency in 2019.
Deputy Interior Minister of the Kyrgyz Republic Almaz Orozaliyev and Acting CSTO Secretary General Valery Semerikov opened the exercise.
The Thunder 2019 exercise focuses on interaction and participation in joint special operations in conditions as close to combat as possible.
​