Fear of a new Ukrainian offensive is raised in Kiev as joint military exercises between Russia and Belarus begin
On Monday, Russia and Belarus started conducting joint military drills, which incited concerns in Kiev and the West that Moscow would use its ally to launch a fresh ground invasion in Ukraine.
In February of last year, Russia invaded Ukraine using its neighbor Belarus as a base.
The two allies started joint army drills involving a “mechanized brigade subdivision” on Monday, according to the Belarusian defense ministry. The two allies will conduct air force drills from January 16 to February 1 using all military airfields in Belarus.
According to Minsk, the air exercises are defensive and it will not join the conflict.
According to a post on the Telegram app of the Belarusian defense ministry on Sunday, first deputy state secretary of the Belarusian Security Council Pavel Muraveyko said, “We’re preserving restraint and patience, keeping our gunpowder dry.”
The situation on Belarus’ southern border with Ukraine, according to Muraveyko, is “not very tranquil,” and Ukraine has been “pressing” Belarus.
We are prepared for any provocative acts by Ukraine, he declared.
Alexander Lukashenko, the president of Belarus, has allegedly been under pressure from Moscow to become more involved in the situation in Ukraine, although Moscow denies this.
Belarus has repeatedly threatened Ukraine with attacks, and President Volodymyr Zelenskiy stated last week that Ukraine must be prepared at its border with Belarus.
Since the invasion started, Belarus has conducted many military drills both independently and in concert with Russia. Minsk has been supporting the exercises with military hardware in addition to Moscow.
Since the beginning of the year, unofficial military Telegram monitoring channels have reported a number of fighters, helicopters, and military transport planes arriving in Belarus — eight fighters and four cargo planes on Sunday alone.
The reports could not be confirmed by Reuters. The only information provided by the Belarusian defense ministry was that “units” of the Russian air force were entering Belarus.
