NATO Secretary General: "Russia Deploys 30,000 Troops and Weapons to Belarus"

"Russia's Largest Troop Deployment Since the Cold War"
Massive Joint Exercises Planned in Belarus

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bo-kyung] Jens Stoltenberg, Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), stated on the 3rd (local time) that Russia is recently moving 30,000 combat troops and the latest weapons to Belarus.

According to major foreign media, Secretary General Stoltenberg told reporters in Brussels, Belgium, on the same day, "This is the largest deployment of Russian troops in this country since the end of the Cold War."

Stoltenberg said the deployment includes special operations forces, SU-35 fighter jets, Iskander missiles, and the S-400 air defense system.

He also mentioned in a recent virtual discussion hosted by the U.S. think tank Atlantic Council, "Russia is deploying thousands of combat troops, aircraft, and the S-400 air defense missile system in Belarus, which borders northern Ukraine," and that they are closely monitoring the situation.

Amid rising tensions between the West and Russia over concerns about a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine, the allied forces of Russia and Belarus are scheduled to conduct large-scale joint exercises within Belarus in mid-month.

For the joint exercises, Russia is relocating troops and military equipment from its Eastern Military District in the Far East thousands of kilometers away to Belarus.

Some warn that Russia, which has deployed over 100,000 troops to the southeastern border region of Ukraine since last year, is also concentrating military forces in Belarus, which borders northern Ukraine, preparing for an invasion of Ukraine.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.