Ukrainian General Staff: Belarus preparing for escalation

Deputy Head of the Main Operative Directorate of the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Oleksiy Gromov has said that Belarus, judging by the actions of the armed forces, including the Russian Federation, is preparing for an escalation.

The leadership of Belarus is trying to develop the need among the population to act against Ukraine in response to the constant statements about the unwillingness to attack, RBC-Ukraine reports citing Gromov’s statement made during a briefing.

“The activity of the Russian and Belarusian armed forces shows a systematic preparation for an escalation. Thus, according to available information, officers of the Russian armed forces are involved in the assessment of the readiness of military units of the Grodno, Brest and Gomel regions of Belarus,” he said.

The deputy head noted that in general, it is planned to assess the readiness of the western region to put it on combat readiness under the guise of training.

“Military manoeuvres are combined with public signals from the Belarusian authorities about the lack of intentions to attack Ukraine. However, the constant meetings of the military and political leadership of Belarus with representatives of labour collectives create the image of the enemy and the need for pre-emptive actions against Ukraine and NATO,” Gromov added.