Did Putin visit Belarus yesterday to open a northern front?

The Russian newspaper "Pravda" published

predicting that the purpose of Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to Belarus is to learn about the readiness of the Russian Armed Forces units stationed there, which suggests the start of the countdown to the launch of the winter campaign in Ukraine.

However, the report stated - based on other Western and Russian media sources - that the visit comes to convince the "enemy" of Russia's ability to attack Ukraine from Belarus, and then force it to withdraw a large number of its forces to the north, to relieve pressure on the Russian forces stationed in eastern and southern Ukraine. .

The report was based on the expectations of the American Institute for the Study of War, which relied on the announcement of the Russian Ministry of Defense last week, that the Russian mobilization exercises in the training field in Belarus are continuing non-stop, and include tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, snipers and RPG-7 shooters.

logistical purposes

It was attributed to the Polish news channel "Polsat News", quoting Marek Budzis, an expert at the Polish think tank "Strategy and the Future", as saying that Putin's intentions are clear, which is to pressure Minsk to participate in the war, but not to launch attacks, but for logistical purposes.

The report also attributed to Reuters news agency, quoting Western analysts, that Lukashenko's army is small in number and lacks sufficient strength and combat experience to make a difference, but forcing Ukraine to send troops to its north may make it vulnerable to Russian attacks elsewhere.

Countdown to the winter campaign

In conclusion, the report quoted the Russian defense television channel, Oboronka, as saying that Putin will present to his Belarusian counterpart plans regarding future developments, in addition to certain guarantees for both the state and Lukashenko personally, allowing the use of some Belarusian units to open the "Northern Front", and that after this meeting, The countdown to the launch of the Winter Campaign in Ukraine will begin.