Russia today deployed its first military units to Belarus for the “Allied Determination-2022” joint exercises, which have been criticized by the US for coinciding with ongoing tensions on the border with Ukraine.
(Keep reading: Russia says there is no threat of war in Europe)
According to the Russian Defense Ministry, they are units of the eastern military district that arrived on Belarusian territory by train “with their usual equipment and weapons”.
(In context: Blinken urges Putin to choose a ‘peaceful path’ in the crisis with Ukraine)
The exercises are aimed at testing the capabilities of the Russian and Belarusian rapid reaction forces at four airfields and five military sites.
will also be inspected joint air defense system, phase in which a dozen Su-35 fighters, two S-400 long-range systems divisions and a Pantsir systems division will participate.
The maneuvers will stage the response to foreign aggression, the fight against terrorism and the defense of the interests of the Russia-Belarus State Union.
(In other news: Russia can launch attack on Ukraine ‘at any time’: US)
Recently, the Russian Ministry of Defense published a video about an inspection of the forces of the Eastern Military District, where one could see the transport of tanks, armored vehicles and other military vehicles by train.
According to independent sources, some units of the Russian Eastern Military District participated in 2014 in the fighting with the Ukrainian Army in Donbas.
The US considers the maneuvers in Belarus “worrying” given that both Washington and Kiev have denounced a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine.
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In turn, the US Secretary of State, Anthony Blinkenassured today in Kiev that, with Russian plans to deploy more forces on the border with Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin can attack Ukrainian territory “in a very short time.”
In this regard, the Russian Deputy Foreign Minister, Sergey Riabkov, assured today that “there is no reason” to worry about these exercises.
“With Belarus we have a State Union that has their own plans, which must be met,” said Riabkov, who stressed that Moscow is willing to dialogue and find a “political solution” to the current tensions.
EFE
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