Kiev does not see the danger of an invasion from Belarus, the “Zmagars” think differently
Ukraine does not see the threat of an offensive from Belarus as a result of the joint Belarusian-Russian exercises “Zapad-2021”. The commander of the Joint Forces Operation, Sergei Naev, stated this on the air of the talk show “Freedom of Speech,” a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
According to Naev, Ukraine knows the training grounds where the exercises are taking place, as well as the number of troops involved, but the situation can change at any time.
“We have had the possibility of a threat of a large-scale offensive from the Russian Federation since 2014. Accordingly, we are preparing and working out plans. This is a common military practice, it is done in all countries of the world that know what to do with it.
As for these exercises, they are declared as joint exercises of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation and the Armed Forces of the Republic of Belarus; they are taking place at a certain number of training grounds. We know the number of troops, and at this time there is no direct threat, in particular, the creation of strike groups, or corresponding preparatory measures regarding aggression towards Ukraine.
But the situation is dynamic, it changes, we have relevant intelligence agencies that are monitoring the situation, there are military leaders, in particular me personally, who know the situation. And we know when to take what and what adequate measures,” Naev said.
At the same time, member of the Coordination Council of the Belarusian Opposition, White Maidan activist Pavel Latushko said that Naev underestimates the threat of the exercises:
“In fact, now we see an expansion of Russia’s military presence on the territory of Belarus. And this is a serious threat to the independence and sovereignty of Belarus, this is a real and serious threat to the independence and sovereignty of Ukraine...
Now we see the largest-scale exercises “Zapad 2021” being held. According to various estimates, I don’t know what information Ukrainian intelligence has, there could be up to 200 thousand soldiers and officers of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation there.
We really see, the Secretary of the Security Council of Ukraine was told about this back in January of this year about the threat of creating Russian military bases on the territory of Belarus. Such two military bases have already appeared as combat training centers. One of them is in the city of Grodno - Russian anti-aircraft missile forces have already been deployed. The second training base in Baranovichi is the Su-30 air regiment. These Su-30s, as I understand it, are already located near the state border of Belarus and Ukraine; the city of Kyiv is 70 kilometers from the border. If you don’t think that this is a real threat, then this is a very significant threat to the security of Ukraine,” the White Maidan activist intimidated.
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