Belarus holds large-scale drills to “respond to crisis situations”

Belarus conducted surprise military exercises to test the combat readiness of the country’s forces. RT reported, the Belarusian Defense Ministry announced the exercise on Telegram on May 4, emphasizing that the exercise was not aimed at any country.

According to the announcement, the goal of the exercise is to assess the readiness of the military to respond to “crisis situations” quickly. Soldiers participating in the exercise will have to operate in unfamiliar areas in a “rapidly changing environment”.

The Belarusian Defense Ministry noted that the scope of the exercises will gradually increase, allowing Minsk to test its military capabilities against “threats on the ground as well as in the air”. In addition, the material support and logistics will be paid special attention.

In a Telegram post, the Belarusian Defense Ministry described the exercise as “one of the most effective ways of training the army”, and stressed that the exercise “does not pose any threat to the community”. the European Community in general, or neighboring countries in particular”.

However, the statement warned Belarusian citizens of the potential for traffic congestion due to the movement of “a large amount of military equipment” and asked residents to exercise caution.

The exercises took place in the context of the military campaign of Russia in Ukraine has entered its third month.

On May 3, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko had a phone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The war in Ukraine was among the topics discussed by the two leaders.

As one of Russia’s closest partners, Belarus has allowed Russian forces to use its territory to launch a military operation into northern Ukraine, including the capital Kiev, during the initial phase of the war. military campaign in late February, early March. Before that, there were wars exercise large-scale joint venture with the participation of both Belarusian and Russian militaries.

Despite supporting Moscow’s decision, Minsk has so far not been directly involved in the conflict.

The latest military drills in Belarus also coincide with major exercises hosted by the country’s neighbors Poland, Lithuania and Latvia, which began in early May.

Poland announced that the exercise Defender Europe 2022 (Guardian Europe 2022) involved troops from more than 20 countries, mainly member states. NATO, deployed to Poland. Exercise Swift Response 2022 was held in Lithuania and Latvia, respectively, with the participation of Polish troops as well as military forces from the Czech Republic, Germany and the Netherlands.

According to the Polish Defense Ministry, the exercises are aimed at strengthening the “security of NATO’s eastern flank” as well as deterring “potential aggressors”. However, Poland said that the exercise was not “aimed at any country and … unrelated to the current geopolitical situation in the region”.