Belarus begins military drills near Poland

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The Ministry of Defense announced on Thursday that Belarusian armed forces have begun military drills near the Polish border.

The drills will take place in the Brest region bordering Poland and Ukraine, as well as in the Vitebsk and Minsk regions, and are expected to last until September 14. 

“The exercise will allow practicing combat (special) operations meant to liberate the territory temporarily occupied by the adversary,” the Ministry’s statement read.

The drills also aim to further soldiers' capacities in “restoring control over the state border,” training close air support, implementing martial law, and fighting against adversary commandos.

International observers were invited to attend the drills in order for Belarus to demonstrate “maximum transparency” and the “desire to improve regional stability.”

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Belarus started planning the maneuvers after President Alexander Lukashenko accused in July NATO of preparing for a war in Eastern Europe, citing increased activity by the military alliance.

It seems that the newly-minted "crusaders" from the North Atlantic Alliance suddenly decided that the time is ripe for another "Drang nach Osten", he said at the time, referring to a German idea of conquering lands in the East.

In July, Lukashenko said Kiev authorities can end the war if they re-start talks with Moscow and accept its demands.

"Everything depends on Ukraine," he said, adding that "right now, the peculiarity of the moment is that this war can be ended on more acceptable terms for Ukraine."

But Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov had said earlier that peace talks with Ukraine "make no sense."

In August, amid the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine, Lukashenko called Kiev a threat to Belarus’ national security, accusing the Ukrainian leadership of stoking regional tensions and embracing policies “directed against its own people.”

Yesterday, Polish Defense Minister Marcin Ociepa said Poland is seeing serious risks of war with Russia within 3 to 10 years from now and should profit from the remaining timespan to ready its military forces.

"There is a serious risk of war with Russia, which we will face in 3-10 years," Ociepa was quoted by Polish newspaper Dziennik Gazeta Prawna as saying.

"We should use this time to fully re-equip the Polish army... Our task is to find this money and spend it well," the Minister said.

The drills come on the heels of the Vostok 2022 international military exercises hosted by Russia, in which Belarusian troops also took part.

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