Russia and Belarus have intensified joint military training, based on Moscow’s combat experience in Ukraine, with an emphasis on conducting combat operations in cities, the Belarus Ministry of Defense TV channel reported on Sunday.
The Ministry of Defense of Belarus said on Thursday that Moscow and Minsk have strengthened their joint military group in Belarus with weapons, soldiers and special equipment and plan to conduct joint air exercises.
The expansion of military cooperation between the two allies comes amid speculation in Ukraine and in the West that Moscow could use Belarus as a springboard for a new attack on northern Ukraine.
It will be recalled that Minsk allowed Moscow to use the territory of Belarus for the introduction of troops into Ukraine on February 24 last year.
“The regional grouping of troops (of Russia and Belarus) is training almost continuously,” the VoenTV TV channel said.
“The intensity of training is increasing. The goal is to be ready to fight the aggressor on all fronts.”
He noted that special attention is paid to preparing for combat operations in cities and spoke about Moscow’s combat experience in Ukraine and how to act in situations when the enemy has placed military positions in various buildings.
The deputy head of the Main Directorate of Military Intelligence of Ukraine, Vadym Skibitsky, said that Russia will announce a new wave of mobilization in mid-January.
Will there be a new Russian offensive from Belarus or not?
In December, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov and Army Chief Valery Zaluzhny said Russia would attack again from Belarus in February 2023. Instead, Ukrainian military intelligence stated that it considers the probability of an attack from Belarus to be low.
According to Skibitskyi, Russia has only one unit with about 15,000 employees in Belarus. Last February, they had 45,000 and could not take Kyiv, although Ukraine was not ready, he said. Currently, Ukraine’s northern defense positions are strong, and Ukraine was ready, Skibitskyi said. The Guardian spent New Year’s Eve at the border in the Sumy region of northeastern Ukraine, where local defense forces echoed the same sentiments.
“Of course, this can change if Belarus enters the war,” Skibitsky said. The military forces of Belarus amount to about 45,000.
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Source: Hot News
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