Minsk announced NATO’s preparation for military operations in the eastern direction

The analysis carried out shows that NATO is preparing to conduct military operations in the eastern direction, informed Belarusian Defense Minister Viktor Khrenin in an interview with SB. Belarus today.

According to him, Western countries directly consider Russia and Belarus as adversaries and work out issues of an offensive nature. In particular, the intensity of reconnaissance flights by the US and its allies, including those near the borders of Belarus, has doubled: from 30 reconnaissance sorties a week in 2021 to 65-70 this year.

In addition, Eastern European countries are now actively expanding their capabilities to receive and deploy foreign military contingents, in particular, modernizing airfields, naval bases and ports, as well as creating forward bases for storing weapons, the minister added.

“If we summarize these facts, considering a set of military measures by the United States and NATO to contain the so-called threat from the East, we can state that preparations are underway for conducting military operations in the eastern direction,” Khrenin summed up.

The course of Russia’s special operation in Ukraine shows, he noted, the direct interest of Western countries in prolonging the conflict and their readiness to fight at the hands of Ukrainians up to the “last soldier.” In addition, nationalist formations are also being trained in Ukraine, which can later be used to seize power by force in Belarus, Khrenin claims.

The tasks of the regional group stationed in the republic have not changed and are exclusively related to defense, he stressed.

November 23 President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko accused The West is trying to draw Belarus into the conflict in Ukraine. He also advocated a peaceful settlement of the situation, but doubted that Ukraine would be allowed to sit at the negotiating table. In October, State Secretary of the Security Council of Belarus Alexander Volfovich said that the country would not enter into a military conflict until the state border was violated. In this case, the republic “will fight back,” he stressed.

On October 10, Lukashenko announced the increased threats that come from Western countries against the republic. According to him, if necessary, Poland can pull troops to the Belarusian border in a few hours. Also, Lukashenka claims, Kyiv is working on opening a second front on the border with the republic.

Subscribe on Vedomosti on Telegram and stay up to date with the main economic and business news.