On December 21, 2018 at 00:20 UTC the Russian "Proton-M” rocket-carrier was launched from Baykonur Cosmodrome. The rocket equipped with the "Briz-M” booster orbited the “Blagovest №13” military communications. The Russian Defense Ministry said that the new satellite would be named “Kosmos-2533”, continuing the Russian military’s naming scheme for defense-related satellites. The “Blagovest” satellites provide high-speed internet, data communications, television and radio broadcasting, telephony and videoconferencing services. It was the 418th launch of the "Proton” rocket-carrier.