There are up to seven Belarusian battalions on the Belarusian-Ukrainian border, including Russian soldiers. Itʼs about 3.5-4 thousand personnel.
This was reported at a briefing by the spokesman of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine Oleksandr Motuzyanyk.
"We need to understand that there are Russian troops there. I will not say their number, but there are a number of settlements where they are located," he said.
According to Motuzyanyk, the Belarusian army numbers 60 thousand people, but Belarusian self-proclaimed president Aleksandr Lukashenko wants to increase it by another 20,000, so he is currently actively recruiting locals to the army.
Given the fact that the Belarusian side now provides Russia with all the logistics, it is possible that the Russians will be able to quickly transfer some additional reserves to the territory of Belarus and, perhaps, prepare an offensive — but this needs preparation.
"As of today, we donʼt see it yet," said a spokesman for the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
"The actions of Russia, including the Belarusian army, are forcing us to keep troops there. This is the Russian tactic as of today. The main direction of attacks is Luhansk Oblast, Donetsk Oblast, the rest is subject to constant shelling, distraction of our attention, restraint of actions of our divisions. In this way, they force us to keep troops there [in different parts of Ukraine]. We are well aware that as soon as we withdraw our units from there, they can launch a second offensive. We do not see this in the near future, but nevertheless we are forced to strengthen this direction," Motuzyanyk explained.
- On June 16, it became known that the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky had ordered to inspect four oblasts in case of a second invasion from the territory of Belarus.