Petras Malukas / AFP via Getty Images
Belarus is conducting military exercises near its borders with Poland and Lithuania from September 15 to 18, the country’s Defense Ministry said on September 15.
The Belarusian Defense Ministry described the drills as “defensive” and said they are aimed at improving the military’s ability to “protect the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” The Kyiv Independent reported.
The exercise is focused on preparing troops to conduct a “strategic military operation,” including securing the border, countering alleged sabotage and reconnaissance groups, and combating drones and light aircraft.
Exercises are being held at the Gozhsky training ground in Grodno Oblast, around 6 kilometers (4 miles) from the Lithuanian border, as well as at the Brestsky and Ruzhansky training grounds, roughly 15 and 60 kilometers (9 and 37 miles) from the Polish border.
Belarus has a history of tensions with its NATO neighbors, including Poland and Lithuania. Minsk has previously been accused of using hybrid tactics against the two countries, including facilitating the arrival of migrants from the Middle East and Africa to its borders with the EU, which triggered a major migration crisis.
Belarus also allowed Russian forces to use its territory as a staging ground for the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
The exercises also come amid a buildup of military infrastructure along the Belarus-Ukraine border, leading Kyiv to warn that Moscow may be planning to draw its closest ally deeper into the full-scale war.
“The threat of a reopened northern front is intended to stretch Ukrainian forces, pulling units from their current positions along the front line,” Michael Kofman, a senior fellow at the D.C.-based Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, told the Kyiv Independent.