[사진 출처 = 연합뉴스]Military tensions are escalating as Russia is also gathering troops in its ally Belarus.
Belarus is Russia’s ally in the north of Ukraine.
The British daily The Guardian reported on the 17th (local time) that Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko had announced that he would hold a joint exercise with Gercia next month.
President Lukashenko said the exercise had already been planned in December last year, and did not mention the specific size and timing, the Guardian said.
In support of this, Alexander Volpovic, chairman of the Belarusian Security Council, said Russian troops were already arriving in Belarus one after another for training.
Videos of Russian military equipment, including self-propelled artillery, being transported to Belarus on a Russian state railway have also appeared on social media.
Russia, which had already deployed a large-scale military force of about 100,000 in the eastern region of Ukraine, mobilized its forces to the north through Belarus.
As a result, the burden on Ukraine to defend not only the east but also the north increased.
The Guardian analyzed that with Russia’s military deployments in the east and north, Ukraine was in a position to defend a front that totaled 1,126 km.
Belarusian President Lukashenko, who was subjected to severe Western sanctions over allegations of corruption in the 2020 presidential election, has since maintained a close relationship with President Vladimir Putin.
Because of this, military experts observe that Belarus is playing a role in the confrontation between Russia and Ukraine.
In fact, when there was a hacking attack on Ukrainian government agencies last week, they also pointed to the Belarusian intelligence agency as the mastermind.
A Russian bomber capable of carrying nuclear weapons has also been observed in Belarusian airspace.
Meanwhile, a growing number of Western countries are supporting Ukraine. First, Britain began supplying anti-tank weapons to Ukraine, and Canada dispatched special forces.
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