The joint Russia-Uzbek military drills Hamkorlik-2026 have officially been rolled out in Uzbekistan. The Ministry of Defense of Uzbekistan announced that the drills started on October 20 and will run until October 27 at the Termez training ground. The strategic location of the Surxondaryo Region in southern part of Uzbekistan is close to Afghanistan.

The Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation’s 201st Military Base with its troops stationed in neighboring Tajikistan also arrived to take part. The soldiers crossed from one country to the other in over 300km covering mountainous roads. The Russian military formation that was deployed consisted of BTR-82As armored personnel carriers, Ural trucks and special vehicles that were based on KamAZ chassis.

The official exercise scenario says that the Russian and Uzbek forces are training to identify and neutralise small groups of simulated enemy forces in the border region. The extensive maneuvers include mountain and assault troops, reconnaissance and strike drones, unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) and Mi-24 attack helicopters.

The exercises started with an opening ceremony where troops marched in joint formation with military bands playing both the national anthems. These military and strategic cooperation exercises occur at a time of growing cooperation between the Government of Russia and the Government of Uzbekistan. Notably, the defense ministries of both countries recently signed an extensive cooperation plan for the period 2026-2030.

This is a continued security collaboration in the region. In July 2025, the two countries held similar joint Hamkorlik-2025 exercises at the same Termez training ground. Additionally, in practice, during the Center-2026 exercises earlier this month in the Chelyabinsk Region of Russia, troops drilled on the creation of a security zone within the state of the Central Asian country.