Russia and Belarus yesterday launched joint military drills, despite concerns in Western countries that Moscow is plotting a major escalation of the conflict in Ukraine.
The exercises, scheduled to continue until Feb. 20 in Belarus, had begun and would center around “suppressing and repelling external aggression,” the Russian Ministry of Defense said in a statement.
Soldiers would practice beefing up sections of the Belarus border to block the delivery of weapons and ammunition into the country, among other scenarios, it said.
British Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs Liz Truss was in Moscow for talks with her Russian counterpart to urge the Kremlin not to attack or face “massive consequences” from Western sanctions.
Moscow and Minsk have not disclosed how many troops are participating in the drills, but the US has said that Russia was planning to dispatch 30,000 personnel to several regions in Belarus.
In Washington on Wednesday, the Pentagon said that Russia is continuing to build up its forces along the border with Ukraine and has now deployed “north of 100,000” troops.
“We have continued to see even over the last 24 hours additional capabilities flow from elsewhere in Russia to that border with Ukraine and Belarus,” Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said. “We’re not going to get into providing specific numbers, but the numbers continue to grow.”
Referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin, Kirby said “we maintain that he’s north of 100,000 for sure.”
“And he continues to add to that capability,” he said. “We also see indications that additional battalion tactical groups are on their way.”
“And so every day he adds to his options. Every day he adds to his capabilities. Every day he continues to destabilize what is already a very tense situation,” Kirby said. “And he could easily restabilize by moving these forces back home, and by committing to a diplomatic path forward.”
Kirby’s comments came as the White House said that US President Joe Biden got a debriefing from French President Emmanuel Macron about meetings this week with the leaders of Russia and Ukraine.
A fire caused by a burst gas pipe yesterday spread to several homes and sent a fireball soaring into the sky outside Malaysia’s largest city, injuring more than 100 people. The towering inferno near a gas station in Putra Heights outside Kuala Lumpur was visible for kilometers and lasted for several hours. It happened during a public holiday as Muslims, who are the majority in Malaysia, celebrate the second day of Eid al-Fitr. National oil company Petronas said the fire started at one of its gas pipelines at 8:10am and the affected pipeline was later isolated. Disaster management officials said shutting the
US Vice President J.D. Vance on Friday accused Denmark of not having done enough to protect Greenland, when he visited the strategically placed and resource-rich Danish territory coveted by US President Donald Trump. Vance made his comment during a trip to the Pituffik Space Base in northwestern Greenland, a visit viewed by Copenhagen and Nuuk as a provocation. “Our message to Denmark is very simple: You have not done a good job by the people of Greenland,” Vance told a news conference. “You have under-invested in the people of Greenland, and you have under-invested in the security architecture of this
Japan unveiled a plan on Thursday to evacuate around 120,000 residents and tourists from its southern islets near Taiwan within six days in the event of an “emergency”. The plan was put together as “the security situation surrounding our nation grows severe” and with an “emergency” in mind, the government’s crisis management office said. Exactly what that emergency might be was left unspecified in the plan but it envisages the evacuation of around 120,000 people in five Japanese islets close to Taiwan. China claims Taiwan as part of its territory and has stepped up military pressure in recent years, including
UNREST: The authorities in Turkey arrested 13 Turkish journalists in five days, deported a BBC correspondent and on Thursday arrested a reporter from Sweden Waving flags and chanting slogans, many hundreds of thousands of anti-government demonstrators on Saturday rallied in Istanbul, Turkey, in defence of democracy after the arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu which sparked Turkey’s worst street unrest in more than a decade. Under a cloudless blue sky, vast crowds gathered in Maltepe on the Asian side of Turkey’s biggest city on the eve of the Eid al-Fitr celebration which started yesterday, marking the end of Ramadan. Ozgur Ozel, chairman of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), which organized the rally, said there were 2.2 million people in the crowd, but
RSS