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Russian soldiers are flooding into Belarus ‘by the trainload’, according to reports, after dictator Alexander Lukashenko announced he will deploy a ‘joint military task force’ with Moscow on his country’s western border in a move that Belarus said today was ‘purely defensive’.
Despite Minsk’s apparent attempt to play down the task force, Ukraine said that it is strengthening its northern border with Belarus amid fears Russia is trying to draw its ally into Vladimir Putin‘s on-going war.
On Monday, Kyiv Post reporter Jason Jay Smart said that a Belarusian source had told him: ‘Russian soldiers are entering Belarus by the trainload. They’re travelling in cattle cars – just a huge quantity. Just waves of trains arriving,’ he wrote on Twitter.
Lukashenko said the task force with Russia was in response to a clear threat to Belarus from Kyiv and its backers in the West, baselessly claiming Lithuania, Poland and Ukraine were training Belarusian ‘radicals’ for terror attacks.
The two countries began combining some of their military forces shortly after the explosion on the Kerch Bridge joining Russian-occupied Crimea to the Russian mainland, according to Lukashenko.
This has sparked fury in Europe, with the European Commission urging Belarus to refrain from any involvement in Russia’s ‘brutal illegitimate undertaking’ that violated the United Nations Charter and international law.
Meanwhile, Poland told its citizens to urgently leave Belarus and said it is carrying out checks on its bomb shelters in response to the announcement. Relations between the neighbours have become increasingly tense, in part due to the war, but also after Belarus funnelled refugees fleeing conflict in the Middle East toward Poland in 2021.
Russian soldiers are flooding into Belarus ‘by the trainload’, according to reports, after dictator Alexander Lukashenko announced he will deploy a ‘joint military task force’ with Moscow on his country’s western border. Meanwhile, Ukraine has said that it is strengthening its northern border with Belarus. Pictured: Ukrainian soldiers are seen training
Lukashenko (pictured with Putin on September 26) said the task force with Russia was in response to a clear threat to Belarus from Kyiv and its backers, claiming Lithuania, Poland and Ukraine were training Belarusian ‘radicals’ for terror attacks
In response to the growing threat, Ukraine said it was strengthening its border with Belarus, fearing another Russian advance into the north of the country.
‘Active actions are being taken to strengthen the units of the MIA [Ministry of Internal Affairs] system on the border with the Republic of Belarus,’ Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Ihor Bondarenko said on Monday.
The Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs also said in its statement ‘[…] Bondarenko inspected the section of the state border with the Republic of Belarus. During the visit, the readiness of the units of the Ministry of Internal Affairs to repel potential aggression from the territory of the Republic of Belarus was verified.’
The ministry added that it was ‘actively involved in the construction of fortifications, structural units are strengthened with a fire component, which significantly strengthens our defence lines.’
Alexander Alesin, an independent Belarusian military analyst, says Belarus could host some 10,000-15,000 Russian troops, which together with its own military could form a joint force of up to 60,000.
But, he argued, Minsk is not willing to deploy troops to Ukraine.
The Kremlin, according to some reports, wants its neighbour to host Russian nuclear weapons. Alesin said: ‘Iskander-M (missiles) have already been deployed to Belarus. They could be equipped with nuclear warheads with a capacity of 50 kilotons and a range of 500 kilometres.’
The analyst said some Belarusian Su-24M bombers had been modified at Russian factories to carry nuclear bombs. But he added: ‘Minsk specifically stipulates that deployment of Russian nuclear weapons to Belarus would only be possible if (U.S.) nuclear weapons are deployed to neighbouring Poland.’
In response to the growing threat to the north, Ukraine said it was strengthening its border with Belarus, fearing another Russian advance into the north of the country. Pictured: A Ukrainian soldier points a weapon over a barricade
Alexander Alesin, an independent Belarusian military analyst, says Belarus could host some 10,000-15,000 Russian troops, which together with its own military could form a joint force of up to 60,000. Pictured: A Ukrainian military vehicle in Ukraine
Speaking on Monday, Lukashenko said Kyiv presents a clear threat to his country.
The remarks from Lukashenko, who has held power in Belarus since 1994, indicate a potential further escalation of the war in Ukraine, possibly with a combined Russian-Belarus joint force in the north of Ukraine.
‘Strikes on the territory of Belarus are not just being discussed in Ukraine today, but are also being planned,’ Lukashenko said at a meeting on security, without providing evidence for the assertion.
‘Their owners are pushing them to start a war against Belarus to drag us there.’
‘We have been preparing for this for decades. If necessary, we will respond,’ Lukashenko said, adding that he had spoken to Putin about the situation while at a meeting in St Petersburg.
Lukashenko said he had agreed with Putin to deploy a regional military group, and had started pulling forces together two days ago, apparently after an attack on Russia’s road and rail bridge to Crimea early on Saturday.
He said that a warning was delivered to Belarus through unofficial channels that Ukraine planned ‘Crimean Bridge 2’, though he did not give details.
‘My answer was simple: “Tell the president of Ukraine and the other lunatics: if they touch one metre of our territory then the Crimean Bridge will seem to them like a walk in the park”.’
He also claimed Lithuania, Poland and Ukraine were training Belarusian ‘radicals’ to carry out terror attacks in his country.
‘The training in Poland, Lithuania and Ukraine of Belarusian radical militants for them to carry out sabotage, terrorist attacks and to organise a military mutiny in the country is becoming a direct threat,’ Lukashenko said.
However, Belarus’ Defense Minister Victor Khrenin ruled out active participation in the war in Ukraine. ‘We don’t want to fight Lithuanians, or Poles, or Ukrainians,’ Khrenin said in a video statement Monday.
Pictured: Russian and Belarus tanks during joint exercises of the armed forces on February 24, days before Putin ordered his forces to invade Ukraine on February 24
Russian (right) and Belarus soldiers during joint exercises of the armed forces, February 19
France on Tuesday warned Minsk it could face more sanctions if it gets more involved in the war in Ukraine. Belarus has already been accused of allowing itself to be used as a Russian launchpad for Putin’s invasion.
Yesterday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russian forces used both missiles and Iranian-built drones – believed to have been sent from Belarus – to strike his country in a series of deadly attacks across the country.
In a statement on Facebook, Ukraine’s military specified that ‘the enemy used Iranian Shahed-136 UAVs in strikes launched from the territory of Belarus’ and the Crimean peninsula annexed by Russia, adding that nine drones were ‘destroyed’.
Putin let rip with 83 missiles and drones at what he claimed were military, energy and communications networks in Ukraine. Kyiv said the missiles actually hit power plants and busy civilian areas in major cities, killing at least 11 and wounding scores more. It was Russia’s largest single barrage since the opening day of the war.
In signs that fears are growing about Belarus’ involvement in the war in Ukraine, Warsaw on Monday said Polish citizens still in Belarus should leave the country.
‘We recommend that Polish citizens staying on the territory of the Republic of Belarus leave its territory with available commercial and private means,’ the government said in guidance for travellers published on its website.
Belarus and Russia reportedly began combining some of their military forces shortly after the explosion on the Kerch Bridge (pictured, October 8) joining Russian-occupied Crimea to the Russian mainland, according to Lukashenko
A medical worker runs past a burning car after a Russian attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, October 10, 2022
83 Russian missiles were launched at Ukraine this morning in combination with Iranian drones, striking power stations, water supplies and civilians across the country – killing at least 11 and wounding scores more
Relations between Warsaw and Minsk deteriorated in 2021 when Poland accused its neighbour of orchestrating a migrant crisis on its border and have become even more strained since the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Warsaw says that the Polish minority in Belarus faces repression from the state, with some community leaders having been imprisoned.
It comes as one of Putin’s staunchest allies warned the huge missile barrage unleashed on Ukraine on Monday is merely the ‘first episode’ of Russia’s revenge for a blast which crippled the Crimea Bridge and ‘there will be others’.
Dmitry Medvedev, a former Russian president himself, said Ukraine poses ‘a constant, direct and clear’ threat and that the Kremlin should aim to ‘completely dismantle the political regime of Ukraine’ which he described as ‘Nazi’.
US President Biden has condemned the widespread missile attacks in Ukraine, saying they have targeted civilians and served no military purpose.
‘The United States strongly condemns Russia’s missile strikes today across Ukraine, including in Kyiv. These attacks killed and injured civilians and destroyed targets with no military purpose,’ Biden said in a statement.
‘They once again demonstrate the utter brutality of Mr. Putin’s illegal war on the Ukrainian people.’
The United States has provided more than $16.8 billion worth of U.S. security assistance since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24 and imposed a wide-ranging array of economic sanctions on Moscow over its actions in Ukraine.
‘These attacks only further reinforce our commitment to stand with the people of Ukraine for as long as it takes,’ Biden said.
‘Alongside our allies and partners, we will continue to impose costs on Russia for its aggression, hold Putin and Russia accountable for its atrocities and war crimes, and provide the support necessary for Ukrainian forces to defend their country and their freedom.’
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