Russian soldiers are apparently arriving in Belarus as part of Allied Resolve 2022, a joint operational exercise of the Armed Forces of Belarus and Russia.
It has been scheduled for February, but the date of the beginning has not been specified yet. It will be held in two stages on the western and southern borders of Belarus. Belarusian strongman Alyaksandr Lukashenka approved the plan of the exercise. Columns of Russian equipment, as well as the movement of Belarusian servicemen were spotted in a number of regions of the country.
“These should be full-scale exercises to drill a certain plan of action against the following forces: in the west (the Baltic states and Poland) and the south (Ukraine),” he said.
According to the Belarusian Defence Ministry, during the would-be wargame the aspects of transferring troops for long distances will be honed with the purpose of establishing a military group. The troops are also expected to work out covering the state border as well as fighting against special forces and armed formations, the ministry reports.
One of the risks to military security of Belarus is the presence of NATO troops in the territory of the neighboring countries, Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces Viktar Hulevich stressed.
“Our country has to respond to these challenges. In accordance with the decision taken by the presidents of Belarus and Russia, a comprehensive readiness test of the Union State’s border protection response forces is underway. Control bodies, formations, and military units of both Belarusian and Russian armed forces are subject to testing,” state-run news agency BelTA quotes Hulevich.
