The Russian and Belarusian armies began Thursday, February 10, military maneuvers in Belarus for ten days, Moscow said, in the midst of Russian-Western tensions around Ukraine.
"The exercises are taking place with the aim of preparing to stop and repel external aggression as part of a defensive operation," the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement.
According to this source, the maneuvers are taking place on five military fields, four air bases and "different sites" in Belarus, in particular in the Brest region, bordering Ukraine.
The armies of Minsk and Moscow did not specify the number of soldiers and equipment participating in these maneuvers, but Westerners claim that 30,000 Russian soldiers have been deployed in Belarus as part of this.
These exercises are perceived in Kiev and in the West as a means of pressure from Moscow, which since November has massed more than 100,000 soldiers on the borders of Ukraine.
Russia is accused of being ready to carry out a new military operation against Kiev, accusations rejected by the Kremlin, which asserts on the contrary that it wants to ensure its security in the face of the behavior deemed hostile by Kiev and NATO.
With AFP
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