Russian forces arrive in Belarus for joint military exercises
Illustrative photo: Russian military personnel arrive in Belarus for training (GettyImages)
The first Russian units have arrived in Belarus to participate in joint exercises, the active phase of which is scheduled for September. Several hundred Russian military personnel are involved, according to Andrii Demchenko, spokesperson for the State Border Service of Ukraine.
According to him, several hundred Russian Armed Forces servicemen and several dozen pieces of equipment have already entered Belarusian territory.
At the same time, Belarus has also sent some of its units and forces to Russia, where there are training grounds.
Demchenko stresses that the intelligence units of the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine (HUR) and the State Border Service of Ukraine are constantly monitoring the possible arrival of Russian units in Belarus to understand how many they can use for these joint exercises, especially at sites on the territory of Belarus.
"Because this direction, as before, is threatening to us. Because during these exercises, we cannot rule out any provocations or escalation of the security situation for our country," the State Border Service spokesperson explains.
At the same time, he stresses that the current number of Russian forces in Belarus does not pose a significant threat, and no strike groups have been formed near the Ukrainian border.
Military training in Belarus
The joint military exercises of Russia and Belarus, West-2025, are planned to be held in mid-September. Moscow claims that the maneuvers will be exclusively defensive and will be aimed at practicing actions in case of possible aggression against the so-called Union State.
Meanwhile, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Oleksandr Syrskyi warned that these exercises could be used as a cover for the covert creation of offensive military groups.
"In other words, the visibility of the exercises is the most acceptable way to redeploy, transfer troops, concentrate them in a certain direction, and create troop formations," Syrskyi explains.
At the same time, the Belarusian Ministry of Defense announced the transfer of the strategic military exercises West-2025 deeper into the country, away from the borders with the EU. This should reduce the anxiety of neighboring countries, in particular Poland and Lithuania.
