Russia is moving its troops and military equipment from training bases in the northern and central parts of Belarus to the south of the country, closer to the border of Belarus with Ukraine, the Belarusian project Hajun, which monitors the movement of Russian troops, reported in Kyiv on December 20. Independent reports.

The group noted that the number of troops and equipment “is small and certainly not sufficient for any offensive actions.”

Belarusian Gayun suggested that equipment and troops could be transferred to participate in the next round of joint exercises of Russian-Belarusian forces near the border with Ukraine.

Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko in Minsk amid widespread reports that Russia is ramping up its military deployment.

On December 18, Belarusian Khayun said that Russia had handed over at least 50 Ural military trucks to Belarus.

Russia has also deployed additional military aircraft in Belarus, including those capable of carrying Kinzhal ballistic missiles.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that protecting the borders with Belarus remains among Ukraine’s priorities.

Belarus functioned as a launching pad for the February 24 invasion. However, Belarusian troops have not yet entered Ukraine.

According to a high-ranking official of the US State Department, at the moment there are conflicting opinions in Russia about whether or not it is worth launching a counteroffensive in Ukraine.

“Of course, there are some (in Russia) who believe that they would like to go on the offensive against Ukraine. There are others who have real doubts about Russia’s ability to do this,” said a senior State Department official. Reporters remain anonymous.

But the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said in an assessment on Friday that Russian forces could create the conditions for an attack from Belarus on Ukraine, but stressed that an invasion by Vladimir Putin’s forces from Belarus is not in the near future.

The head of Ukraine’s armed forces, Valery Zaluzhny, told The Economist last week that Russia is preparing 200,000 troops for a major offensive that could begin in the east, south or even Belarus in January or early spring.

In this context, Russia will again try to conquer Kyiv after the failure in February of this year.

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