MADRID, 17 Oct. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Government of Belarus has estimated that 9,000 soldiers will be sent by Russia to join the joint deployment between the two allied countries, which Minsk has once again justified for defensive reasons. “We are not going to attack anyone,” Defense Minister Viktor Khrenin said on Monday.
Belarus received the first military personnel from Russia this week, the result of a commitment signed by the presidents of both countries, Alexander Lukashenko and Vladimir Putin, respectively, and which Minsk tries to justify by appealing to the risks to national security.
The head of international cooperation of the Belarusian Armed Forces, Valeri Revenko, has confirmed on Twitter that “up to 9,000” Russian troops will arrive, to which should be added some 170 tanks and 200 armored combat vehicles, as well as artillery.
For his part, the Minister of Defense has indicated that “the regional force has begun its deployment and to carry out missions” and trusts in this deployment to “respond to the pending challenges and threats”. In this sense, he has emphasized during a ceremony in the capital that the agreement has “purely defensive” purposes, according to the BelTA news agency.
Lukashenko has denounced risks to Belarusian national security coming from various countries, including Ukraine. The Ukrainian president, Volodimir Zelenski, has proposed sending international observers to the area to solve the suspicions of Minsk, fearing that they are a justification for a future military intervention.
