MINSK, 12 November (BelTA) – The military activities neighboring countries have launched near Belarus' borders are in no way related to the migration crisis as far as the forces, means, and the scale of the activities are concerned, BelTA learned from Belarusian Defense Minister Viktor Khrenin.
The official said: “During yesterday's government conference the commander-in-chief of Belarus' Armed Forces gave instructions to monitor the situation along the country's borders. In a bid to fulfill the instructions, we closely monitor the situation on the ground and in the air. Forces and assets of electronic intelligence, radar intelligence, and a number of other components are used to provide a comprehensive evaluation and analysis of the situation.”
The defense minister stated that considering the forces, assets, and the scale of the military activities the neighboring countries have launched in the direct vicinity of Belarusian borders these activities are in no way related to the migration crisis. “We see an increase in military activities in the direction of Grodno. A force of over 15,000 people has been deployed near the western border of the Republic of Belarus. The force includes units and command and control bodies of two territorial defense brigades. Apart from that, units of the 16th Mechanized Division of the Polish army have been deployed near Kuznica. Air defense units and special operations forces have been deployed. The base for increasing the forces in this area has been prepared. With this in mind 12 field camps have been set up for housing Polish military personnel and hardware. Military activity has also been registered in the Belarusian-Lithuanian direction,” Viktor Khrenin noted.
The official went on saying: “Interaction between Belarusian and Russian intelligence agencies confirms our conclusion. We are getting the impression that our western neighbors, Poland in particular, are ready to start a conflict and involve Europe in it in order to resolve their domestic political problems and problems inside the European Union. We would like to caution hot heads from overestimating their capabilities. The language of ultimatums, threats, and blackmail is unacceptable. Belarus' Armed Forces are ready to harshly respond to any attacks. Our threat response system allows us to ensure the country's security, including if necessary together with our key strategic ally – Russia. We are ready to protect borders of the Union State and promptly deploy the necessary forces in any direction. Attempts to intimidate us and unreasonably accuse us force us to adequately respond to this situation.”
