Belarus fails to let Russian paratroopers participate in Independence parade for reason - expert


Russian paratroopers have not taken part in Belarus’ Independence Day parade on July 3. According to military news portal Belarus Security Blog, Minsk failed to invite them for a reason.

“Russian military usually take part in parades in Belarus. Over the recent years (2011-2016) Pskov paratroopers have been part a marching column,” the article says.

It should be noted the Pskov-based 76th Guards Air Assault Division was involved in the annexation of Crimea in 2014. Its troops were also spotted in Donbas.

At least 40 soldiers of the division were killed in August in Ukraine, OSINT project bellingcat.com reports.

It is the first time when only Russian aircraft were engaged in the Belarusian parade. The reasons for that were not officially reported, but it is highly questionable that such decision was taken by Moscow, Belarus Security Blog stresses.

Minsk might have listened to the voice of the international community, the experts believe.

“It was a join stance by the Western countries, and Ukraine joined them. The Belarusian Foreign Ministry was informed that a repeat of last year’s format of participation of the Russian military in the parade on July 3 would have certain consequences,” Belarus Security Blog chief Andrey Parotnikau said with reference to reliable sources.

In his opinion, the West could have perceived Inviting military units that played a hand in the attack on Ukraine as a provocative and unfriendly act.

“Only one person in Belarus could take the decision on such a sensitive issue – Alyaksandr Lukashenka. And the fact that he was not afraid to make relations with Russia more complicated proves that the relations are problematic,” the article says.

belsat.eu

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