Russia Extends Joint Exercises with Belarus Until Just Before End...Concerns Over Preparation for Ukraine Invasion

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] Concerns over a Russian invasion of Ukraine are intensifying as Russia and Belarus announced the extension of joint military exercises being conducted near the border with Ukraine. The shortest distance from the Belarus border area to Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, is known to be only about 90 km, raising fears that if Russia initiates an invasion, the heart of Ukraine could be struck.

According to Russian TASS news agency and others on the 20th (local time), Viktor Khrenin, Belarus' Minister of Defense, stated in a press release, "We have decided to extend the joint exercises with Russia." Originally, the joint exercises between the two countries were scheduled to end on this day, according to Russia. Minister Khrenin explained, "Due to increased Western military activities and the worsening situation in Ukraine's Donbas region, we have decided to continue the joint response inspection exercises." The Donbas region is the eastern part of Ukraine where clashes between pro-Russian separatists and Ukrainian government forces are currently ongoing.

Minister Khrenin emphasized, "Assuming an emergency situation in Ukraine, the readiness of NATO's rapid response forces has improved, and the number of Western exercises and operations conducted near the Russia-Belarus allied states has increased several times. In a situation where advanced weapons are being supplied to Ukraine on a large scale, we will maintain the direction of the exercises to appropriately respond to the military posture of hostile forces and to ease tensions."

The Belarusian government has not disclosed when the exercises will end, and Russia has also made no specific remarks. This has led to concerns in some quarters that Russian troops may be permanently stationed in Belarus. Previously, 30,000 Russian troops were dispatched to Belarus from the 10th and have been conducting successive exercises near the borders with Ukraine, Poland, and Lithuania, heightening military tensions.

In particular, the shortest distance from the Belarus-Ukraine border area to Kyiv is only 90 km, raising fears that Russia could directly attack Kyiv if hostilities break out.

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