Belarus mentioned on Tuesday (Feb 21) that there was a big grouping of Ukrainian troops massed close to its border and warned that this posed a menace to its safety.
“At current, a big grouping of the Ukrainian military is concentrated within the instant neighborhood of the Belarusian-Ukrainian part of the state border,” the defence ministry mentioned in a put up on Telegram.
“The likelihood of armed provocations, which may escalate into border incidents, has been excessive for a very long time,” it mentioned, including that it could take “measures to adequately reply” however would act in a restrained method.
Reuters was unable to instantly confirm the state of affairs on the border.
Belarus allowed Russia to make use of its territory as a launchpad for the invasion of Ukraine a 12 months in the past, and President Alexander Lukashenko mentioned final week that it was prepared to take action once more.
Kyiv has voiced considerations for months that Belarus may be a part of the conflict on Russia’s facet, a possible menace that has compelled it to divert troops to defend the north of Ukraine whereas waging conflict with Russia within the east and south.
Lukashenko says Belarus would only enter the war if attacked by Ukraine.
His military has been coaching with Russian forces for months. Tuesday’s assertion mentioned greater than 150 joint occasions have been deliberate this 12 months, together with a significant train known as Union Defend 2023 in September.
