Although Belarus has declared support for Putin against Ukraine, it does not change the fact that the country is in a panic mode about the impending war, as Russia has dragged them into the fight.
Russia is sending as many as 9,000 servicemen and hundreds of armored vehicles to Belarus, the Belarusian Defense Ministry said Monday.
According to the ministry, Belarusian forces are set to conduct live fire exercises and anti-aircraft guided missile launches with the Russians.
It is another sign that President Vladimir Putin might decide to use the country as a fighting ground and may be preparing its armed forces for more action.
Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko said earlier this month he agreed with Putin that there should be a joint regional group of troops “in connection with the aggravation on the western borders of the Union State.”
He was referring to the “union state” between Russia and Belarus that fuses the countries’ militaries, banking, and other sectors.
The head of the Department of International Military Cooperation of the Ministry of Defense Belarus, Valery Revenko, said:
Russia will send Belarus approximately “170 tanks, up to 200 armored combat vehicles, and up to 100 guns and mortars with a caliber of more than 100 mm.”
The exercises come as Ukraine warns that Belarus may make an attempt to attack Ukraine from the north, Ukraine Security Service (SBU) Colonel Roman Kostenko said earlier this month.
Belarus has long been supportive of Russia’s war in Ukraine, serving as the launching pad for Russia’s effort to seize Kyiv early this year.
Although the offensive failed, Belarus has been ginning up its military in light of the war for months.
