Russia is sending up to 9,000 army workers and armored car loads to Belarus, Belarus’ Defense Ministry said on Monday. According to the ministry, Belarusian forces are in a position to conduct live-fire training and anti-aircraft guided missile launches with the Russians.
This is the latest sign that Belarus, which Russian President Vladimir Putin has used as a starting point for war in Ukraine, could prepare its armed forces for more action.
Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko said earlier this month that he agreed with Putin for a joint regional organization of troops “in connection with the worsening of the Union state on the western borders,” referring to the “Union State” between Russia and Belarus that merges the countries’ military, banking and other sectors.
According to a briefing with army attachés, Russia will send to Belarus some “170 tanks, up to two hundred armored fighting cars and up to a hundred weapons and mortars with a caliber greater than one hundred mm,” the head of the Department of International Military Affairs said. Cooperation said. of the Ministry of Defense of Belarus, Valery Revenko, said.
Aviation pieces and troops have already begun to arrive, Revenko said. Belarus’ armed forces also underwent a “sudden combat readiness inspection” this month, he added.
The drills come as Ukraine warns that Belarus could try to attack Ukraine from the north, Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) Colonel Roman Kostenko said earlier this month.
Belarus has long supported Russia’s war in Ukraine, serving as a launching pad for Russia’s efforts in Kyiv earlier this year. Although the offensive failed, Belarus has been strengthening its army in light of the war for months. In June, Belarus announced the creation of a people’s militia, a new army unit on the southern border with Ukraine, and exercises.
Lukashenko has in recent weeks accused other European countries of acting “provocatively” and has also taken aim at Poland, threatening to react forcefully if something happens on its border with the country.
At the same time, the Belarusian president has made calls for peace, suggesting he opposes war, while allowing Putin to use Belarus for his war plans. The Belarusian Defense Ministry claimed that the peace proposals had been accepted, forcing Belarus to deploy hotel.
“Under the existing situations of the political-military situation, most of the proposals of the Ministry of Defense of Belarus on the lack of discussion and the reduction of tension under pretexts have not been accepted. The result is deployment,” Revenko said.
Putin will most likely run to lean on Lukashenko after a series of casualties in Ukraine, Kenneth Yalowitz, a former US ambassador to Belarus, told The Daily Beast.
“Putin is very pressing,” Yalowitz said.
Putin would possibly hope that if Belarus appears to be preparing for a possible deployment, Ukraine will have to divert some resources to protect against a possible incursion into the north, diverting attention from fighting the Russians in the south and giving the Russians an advantage.
“By presenting this force on the border between Belarus and Ukraine. . . what Putin needs is to force Ukrainian forces to protect this component of the border,” Yalowitz told The Daily Beast. mind war. . . to show that Putin is helpless, but still has options. . . even if the war goes badly. “
Belarusian Defense Minister Viktor Khrenin spoke to the Belarusian-Russian organization at a meeting Monday at a tractor factory and noted that Belarus was education for deployment.
The grouping includes “command and control organs at other levels” as well as army ensembles and joints, according to Khrenin.
“We have practiced functions to deploy and use the regional working group,” Khrenin said. “We practice deploying all systems at apparent risk and incrementally deploying according to the situation. In light of changing circumstances, we are progressively implementing individual measures to prepare the Regional Working Group to respond to demanding situations and emerging risks.
The entry of Russian forces into Belarus is provoking rumors of mobilization and worries the country, as the national population is unlikely to help a broad mobilization. A Belarusian mother, who spoke to RFERL under a pseudonym to protect her safety, said she ordered her son, who is deployed near the border with Ukraine, to run.
“Just don’t go into the military and hide the children,” the mother said, “so they don’t fight for other people’s interests. “
Others are contemplating tactics for conscription if Lukashenko orders a broader mobilization, especially after Belarusian lawmakers are considering canceling plans to postpone reading by academics abroad.
Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya warned that if Lukashenko moved forward with a mobilization, he would face an internal setback.
Lukashenko worked to follow the rules and promised that his participation in the confrontation would only help the Russians and Ukrainians and that he was not aimed at getting Belarus directly involved in the war.
The Belarusian defense minister echoed his position and said that the organization’s trainings were only defense, attack.
“We will not attack anyone. I would like to emphasize once again that this grouping of forces intends to carry out purely defensive tasks,” Khrenin said, adding that it was intended to be an “adequate response” to what is happening. Borders of Belarus.