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.
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