Russia and Belarus to hold joint military exercises in September, Minsk says

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MOSCOW (Reuters) -The Russian and Belarusian armies are set to hold joint strategic exercises in Belarus from September 12-16, the Belarusian Defence Ministry said on Tuesday.

The aim of the drills is to test the capabilities of Russia and Belarus and “ensure the military security of the Union State and their readiness to repel possible aggression,” the ministry cited Major General Valery Revenko as saying.

The Union State is a borderless union and alliance between the two former Soviet republics and neighbours.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy warned earlier this year, without giving details or citing evidence, that Russia was “preparing something” in Belarus this summer under the guise of routine military exercises.

In an interview with Time Magazine last week, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said he had decided to move the location of the joint military drills away from Belarus’ western borders with European Union countries, citing security concerns raised in Poland and the Baltic nations.

Lukashenko called the idea that Belarus would utilise the drills to attack the three Baltic countries and Poland “complete nonsense.”

Revenko, the Major General, said the Belarusian-Russian drills were “being used as a pretext for ongoing militarisation” in neighbouring NATO countries, citing upcoming joint NATO drills in Poland involving at least 34,000 troops.

Belarus, Russia’s closest ally, has seen its relations with western neighbours and Ukraine deteriorate over the last few years after Moscow used Belarusian territory as a staging ground for an assault on Kyiv it launched in February 2022.

(Reporting by Reuters; Writing by Lucy PapachristouEditing by Andrew Osborn)