Commander of the Russian Land Forces General Oleg Salyukov, who on Wednesday was appointed deputy commander of the Russian military operation in Ukraine Valery Gerasimova, went to Belarus on Thursday to check the combat training of the joint Russian-Belarusian forces. This was reported by the Ministry of Defense from Minsk, The Guardian reports.

Salyukov was named yesterday as one of the deputy commanders of Russia’s military operation in Ukraine in the latest in a series of reshuffles that included the appointment of Valery Gerasimov, chief of the General Staff, as the main commander of the war in Ukraine.

Salyukov’s visit comes as Russia and Belarus expand joint military exercises in Belarus amid growing concern that Moscow is pressuring its closest ally to join the war in Ukraine.

“An inspection of the military units and units of the Russian component of the regional grouping of troops located at the training grounds of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Belarus was carried out,” the Ministry of Defense of Belarus said in a statement.

“During the visit, the quality of combat coordination training and the ability of the troops to perform tasks as assigned in the interests of ensuring the military security of the Union State were checked,” said a Russian-Belarusian press release, quoted by CNN. , News .ro reports.

The Ministry of Defense of Belarus also announced on Wednesday the strengthening of the joint air defense forces of Belarus and Russia.

• Russia and Belarus increase joint military training, focusing on urban warfare, drawing on Moscow’s “experience” in Ukraine

Russia and Belarus plan to hold joint air drills there from next Monday, but observers fear that Moscow is actually preparing for a new invasion of Ukraine from the north, targeting the capital Kyiv, after such an attempt failed at the start of the war.

• Belarus announced that it had put air defense units joint with Russia “in combat mode”

Belarusian leader Oleksandr Lukashenko allowed Putin to use his country’s territory to invade Ukraine last February, but Russian forces were repulsed in their attempt to capture the capital, Kyiv.

Military analysts say Russia has also used facilities in Belarus to train newly mobilized soldiers who were drafted in last September to bolster Russian forces in Ukraine.

However, Belarus did not send its own troops to Ukraine to support Russia’s “special operations” in that country.

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.

According to him, in January, but most likely in the spring, the Russian Federation may launch a major offensive from Donbas in the east, from the south, or even from Belarus.

Instead, Ukrainian military intelligence stated that it assessed the probability of an attack by Belarus as low.

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.

According to Skibitskyi, as of January 8, Russia had 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. Now the northern defensive positions of Ukraine are strong and Ukraine is ready, Skibitskyi said.

Exiled Belarusian opposition leader Svitlana Tikhanovskaya warned in December that the risks of Minsk sending troops to Ukraine “may increase in the coming weeks” as fears grow in Kyiv that Moscow is pressuring its close ally to join a new ground offensive to Ukraine.

“Of course, this can change if Belarus enters the war,” Skibitsky said. The armed forces of Belarus comprise about 45,000 soldiers.

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