Ukraine Is Moving More Troops To the Belarus Border

Ukraine is reinforcing its forces along its border with Belarus, fearing that given its failures everywhere else in Ukraine, it might try to open new front using troops from Belarus. JL

Howard Altman reports in The Drive:

Unable to succeed in the south and east, Russia may be looking for a new front. The opening phases of Russia’s full-on invasion included an unsuccessful push from Belarus toward the Ukrainian capital Kyiv. (Now), concerned about the movement of Russian troops and equipment to Belarus and the continued launching of 'kamikaze drones' from that nation, Ukraine is bolstering its forces along its northern border with Moscow’s client state. Ukraine does not see “the direct creation of an offensive group” of Russian forces in Belarus, but they are gearing up efforts there

Concerned about the movement of Russian troops and equipment to Belarus and the continued launching of 'kamikaze drones' from that nation, Ukraine is bolstering its forces along its northern border with Moscow’s client state.

“We have already grown our grouping in the north direction,” said Brig. Gen. Eral Alexey Gromov, Deputy Chief of the Chief Operational Department of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on Thursday. Unable to succeed in the south and east, Russia may be looking for a new front, he added. The opening phases of Russia’s full-on invasion, which began back on February 24, included an unsuccessful push from Belarus toward the Ukrainian capital Kyiv.

In keeping with the Ukrainian military’s position of maintaining strict operational security, Gromov did not offer any details on how many troops, exactly where they are, or how they are equipped. He did outline several reasons behind the troop increase along the border with Belarus.

At the moment, Ukraine does not see “the direct creation of an offensive group” of Russian forces in Belarus, Gromov said during an online briefing of representatives of the Security and Defense Forces of Ukraine at the Military Media Center Thursday, according to the Ukrainian General Staff Facebook page. But they are gearing up efforts there, he said.

“Measures are purposefully carried out by” Russia, Gromov said, pointing to “the territory of the Chornobyl zone, as well as from the Chernihiv region. “Threats are [there], threats will be [there], we respond to everything accordingly.”Russian officers are taking part “in the assessment of the readiness of the military units of [the] Grodnetsk, Brest, and Gomel regions of Belarus,” said Gromov. In addition to transferring troops to the Zyabrivka airport, Russians are still trying to transfer troops to other airports in Belarus, he said.

And Russia continues to use Belarus to mount drone attacks on Ukraine.

“This week, 10 Shahed drone launches were carried out from the territory of the Republic of Belarus,” he said.And while there have been reports of Iranian troops spotted in Ukraine to help Russian forces operate those drones, some have apparently recently shown up in Belarus as well.

Previous estimates have placed about 10,000 Russian troops in Belarus.

Those troops began arriving after Oct. 10, when Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko announced that he and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to deploy a regional group of forces of troops from both nations in Belarus. Lukashenko called the deployment a response to NATO provocations on the border, the formation of sabotage units staffed by Belarusian émigrés, and Ukrainian plans to attack Belarus. But it should be noted that prior to its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russia had troops in Belarus as part of a massive training exercises.

Gromov said that while Belarusian military maneuvers and public statements point to “a lack of intention to attack Ukraine,” ongoing “meetings of the military-political leadership of Belarus with representatives of labor teams form the image of the enemy with the need for preventive actions against Ukraine and NATO.”

“We respond adequately to all threats not only from the territory of the Republic of Belarus,” he said, “but from the east of our country, and from the south.”