Now Kremlin begins ten days of drills in Belarus
RUSSIA yesterday began ten days of military drills in Belarus as its forces continued to surround Ukraine.
About 30,000 troops are believed to have travelled to Belarus for the joint exercises – which are the biggest staged by Russia since the Cold War.
The Kremlin claims the show of strength is intended to practise repelling ‘external aggression’ but the drills were denounced yesterday as a ‘violent gesture’ that amounts to ‘psychological pressure’.
Ukraine’s border with Belarus is only 130 miles from the capital Kiev. Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko is a firm ally of Russian president Vladimir Putin.
Moscow has moved huge amounts of military hardware into Belarus, its neighbour, including SU-35 fighter jets and S-400 ground-to-air missile systems.
Russia already has about 130,000 troops stationed along its border with Ukraine.
Meanwhile, hundreds of miles to the south, Russian naval vessels have blocked off sections of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov while live firing exercises take place.
A further six Russian amphibious carrier ships have also arrived off Crimea, offloading tanks and troops to add to the swarming numbers of Kremlin forces.
The Ukrainian defence ministry claims the exercises represent a breach of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea as they will include a blockade of international shipping lanes.
Yesterday, Nato secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg said he was ‘closely monitoring’ Russian troop movements.
The scenarios that Russian soldiers are training for include strengthening borders against militants and post-conflict settlement – challenges they would face were they to occupy Ukraine.
The drills, called ‘Allied Resolve 2022’, will continue until February 20.
Last night, France described the drills as a ‘violent gesture’ while Ukraine said they amounted to ‘psychological pressure’.