President Volodymyr Zelensky warned on April 29 that Russia is making ready potential navy aggression beneath the guise of joint workout routines with Belarus this summer time.
"Have a look at Belarus — this summer time, Russia is making ready one thing there beneath the guise of navy workout routines. That is how its new assaults normally begin," Zelensky stated on the Three Seas Summit, in keeping with Suspilne.
"However the place this time? I don't know. Ukraine? Lithuania? Poland? God forbid! However all of us should be ready. All our establishments are open to cooperation."
Belarus will host the Zapad 2025 (West 2025) navy workout routines with Russian forces, a part of a long-standing collection of drills held each two years since 2009.
The latest iteration, Zapad-2021, concerned over 200,000 members and served as a prelude to Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Regardless of not being straight concerned in Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Belarus continues to host Russian troops and missiles on its territory.
Belarus shares borders with Ukraine, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, and Russia, positioning it as a key strategic hall between NATO and Moscow.
Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi beforehand stated that the upcoming Zapad workout routines might allow Russia to covertly assemble offensive forces beneath the guise of drills.
The Kyiv IndependentAndrea Januta
"All workout routines have a objective. And certainly one of these objectives is the covert creation of offensive troop teams," Syrskyi instructed Lb.ua on April 9.
"The visibility of the workout routines is essentially the most acceptable technique to relocate, redeploy troops, focus them in a sure path, and create a gaggle of troops."
Zelensky has repeatedly cautioned that Russia might escalate navy actions past Ukraine.
On Feb. 14, through the Munich Safety Convention, he stated Russian President Vladimir Putin deliberate to deploy as much as 150,000 troops, primarily in Belarus, suggesting a doable buildup for future offensives in opposition to NATO nations.
"Primarily based on all the knowledge I've gathered from intelligence and different sources, I feel he’s making ready for warfare in opposition to NATO nations subsequent 12 months (2026)," Zelensky stated, although he added he couldn’t be completely positive.
Tensions between NATO and Moscow have intensified following Russia's all-out invasion of Ukraine.
Western leaders and intelligence businesses have warned of a danger of a bigger warfare in Europe inside the subsequent 5 years, pointing to Russia's rising militarization and hostile posture.
The Kyiv IndependentDmytro Basmat