Russia and Belarus launch joint military drills

Russia and Belarus launch joint military drills
February 10, 2022, 3:55 pm

Flag of Russia-Russian navy/Pixabay

The Asharq Al-Awsat reported, Russia and Belarus launched joint military drills Thursday despite concerns in Western countries that Moscow is plotting a major escalation of the conflict in Ukraine.

Russia's defense ministry said in a statement that the exercises, scheduled to continue until February 20 in Belarus, had begun and would center around "suppressing and repelling external aggression."

It said that soldiers would practice beefing up sections of the Belarus border to block the delivery of weapons and ammunition into the country, among other scenarios.

AFP reported that the games have exacerbated deeply strained ties between Russia and the West, which accuses Moscow of massing approximately 100,000 troops around the borders of Ukraine for a potential invasion.

British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss was in Moscow Thursday for talks with her Russian counterpart to urge the Kremlin not to attack or face "massive consequences" from Western sanctions.

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Moscow and Minsk have not disclosed how many troops are participating in the drills, but the United States has said Russia was planning to dispatch 30,000 troops personnel to several regions in ex-Soviet Belarus.

The report noted that in respond to Western concerns, the Kremlin has insisted that it has no intention of leaving the troops permanently on Belarusian territory.

Source: aawsat

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