Zelenskyj: Psychological pressure
Russia starts military maneuvers in Belarus
02/10/2022, 11:09 am
Amid tensions between Russia and the West, Moscow is holding a joint military exercise with Belarus near the border with Ukraine. The NATO countries fear a permanent stationing of Russian troops in the country.
Despite harsh Western criticism, Russia and Belarus have started joint military maneuvers near the Ukrainian border. The aim of the exercises is to prepare the armed forces to “stop and ward off external aggression as part of a defense operation,” the Russian Defense Ministry said. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj lamented the “psychological pressure” on his country. France also criticized the large-scale military exercises.
The exercises are mainly taking place in the Brest region, close to the Ukrainian border. In addition to preparing for “external aggression,” the goal is also the “fight against terrorism” and “defending the interests of the Union state,” the Russian Defense Ministry said, referring to the Russian-Belarusian defense and economic community.
Belarus and Russia did not provide any information on the number of soldiers involved in the joint exercises. Western representatives assume that Russia has transferred around 30,000 soldiers to Belarus for the maneuver. The Kremlin has announced that it will withdraw its troops from Belarus after the end of the exercises. The West, on the other hand, fears that Russia wants to station the soldiers permanently in the neighboring country.
Zelenskyj: “We have enough forces to defend ourselves”
Russia has “actually joined Belarus militarily,” criticized SPD foreign policy expert Michael Roth in the ZDF “Morgenmagazin”. He called the situation in Eastern Europe “extremely dangerous” given the Belarusian-Russian military maneuvers and the tens of thousands of soldiers massed on the Russian-Ukrainian border.
According to Western information, Moscow has massed well over 100,000 soldiers on the border with Ukraine in recent months. This fuels fears of a possible large-scale attack by Russia on the neighboring country. NATO is therefore increasing its troop contingents in the eastern member states. The United States and other allies are also supplying arms to Kiev.
The Ukrainian head of state Zelenskyy accused Russia and Belarus of exerting psychological pressure on his country by “piling up forces on the border”. He added: “Today we have enough forces to honorably defend our country.”
Lukashenko is in power by Putin’s grace
The French government also sharply criticized the military maneuvers in Belarus. Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told France Inter that the exercises were “extremely” large-scale. France is concerned about this “gesture of great violence”. Le Drian said it was conceivable that the armed forces would be withdrawn after the exercises ended on February 20, as announced. This is an “important test,” said the Foreign Minister. “We will see if there is a de-escalation process that will be implemented.”
The former Soviet Republic of Belarus is heavily dependent on its large neighbor Russia. Ruler Alexander Lukashenko has been largely isolated internationally since the 2020 presidential election, which was overshadowed by massive allegations of fraud. Russian President Putin is his last important ally.
Russia rejects any plans to attack Ukraine. At the same time, the Kremlin argues that it feels threatened by Kiev and NATO. Putin is demanding comprehensive security guarantees from the military alliance and the United States. At a meeting with his British colleague Liz Truss in Moscow, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov warned that Western “ultimatums” or “threats” lead “to nothing”. Great Britain recently struck a sharp chord in the Ukraine crisis and threatened tough sanctions against Moscow in the event of a Russian invasion.
Despite the ongoing tensions, Western representatives continue to rely on a diplomatic settlement of the crisis. A second round of talks at the level of foreign policy advisors in the so-called Normandy format will take place in Berlin on Thursday. The Normandy format was launched in 2014 to settle the conflict in eastern Ukraine. The mediation between Russia and Ukraine by Berlin and Paris led to the Minsk Agreement of 2015. However, Kiev and Moscow regularly accuse each other of violating the agreement.