Russia’s military exercises in Belarus are being conducted just minutes from the Polish border. The drills come as fear grows that Vladimir Putin might be planning an invasion in Eastern Europe.
Russia’s defence ministry stated that paratroopers would be dropping on the Gozhsky Range, 20 miles from migrants who are gathering at the Polish border. This will allow them to practice both capturing bridges and hunting down and eliminating enemy patrols.
Belarus stated that the drill was to counter the Polish border’s ‘buildup of militarism’. There, 15,000 troops were stationed in order to stop the migration. As a demonstration of strength, Russia previously flew nuclear-capable bombers above Belarus.
At the same time, Polish defence minister Mariusz Błaszczak revealed British engineers have been deployed to help strengthen the defences amid warnings from all sides that the crisis risks spilling over into a conflict.
Separately Washington warned European allies about Putin’s plans to invade Ukraine’s Eastern borders. This warning comes after satellites detected troops, tanks, and artillery pieces massing in the area.
American intelligence sources briefed European counterparts on a possible Kremlin operation in Ukraine’s east to annexe territory, similar to 2014’s annexation.
While the US refuses to disclose the exact information it holds about an imminent attack by Russia, satellite images have revealed that there is a significant buildup of Russian troops and tanks close to the border.
Ukraine, which for many years has been engaged in a proxy war against Russian-backed separatists within its Eastern regions, has now moved 8500 troops across the border to respond.
America warned European allies it could be invading Ukraine to try and annex its territory along its eastern borders. This warning came amid tensions between Poland, Belarus and migrants.
Washington is averting Putin’s forces from close to Ukrainian territory. Satellite images over the past few weeks show large tanks and artillery pieces within the area.
Ukraine claims that there are currently 90,000. Russian troops near its border. This is where the country has been fighting an insurgency for years in its eastern region by Russian-backed separatists.
In the midst of tensions between Russia, Ukraine and Belarus, Belarus presses Europe over migration and threatens to stop gas supplies to Europe through the closing Yamal-Europe Pipeline which runs through it (pictured).
Alexander Lukashenko (Belarus dictator) is being accused of forcing people to illegally cross into Poland. It was part of a calculated attempt to weaken the bloc.
Lukaschenko warned about the possibility of conflict on Thursday and charged armed groups from the Donbas of Ukraine with trying to transport weapons to migrants crossing into Poland in an effort to ignite fighting.
According to Wyborcza Polish Newspaper, “They are Kurds. And the Kurds have become militant.” They become desperate when they are beaten, tormented, and cut by Poles. A rifle and one gun are all you need to start an armed conflict.
Lukashenko also threatened to stop natural gas supply from Russia through Ukraine into Europe, though this threat was repelled by Moscow today.
Putin’s spokesperson Dmitry Peskov stated that Lukasenko did not coordinate with Moscow and then added that Russians had pledged to honor gas contracts.
After Lukashenko had spoken out on Thursday at a meeting with government officials, it was after he muse: “We are heating Europe, and they are threatening to us… What about if we cut their natural gas?”
“I recommend that the Polish and Lithuanian authorities think before speaking up.”
Russia’s Yamal Europe pipeline passes through Belarus and Poland. It accounts for around 20% of Russia’s gas-carrying capability into Europe.
About 25% of Africa’s energy comes from natural gas. This is more than 50% of what Russia has, with the biggest gas reserves in the world.
A few weeks back, European leaders tried to reach an agreement with Russia in order to boost supplies. Stockpiles were running low because of rising demand after the collapse of Covid.
Putin was accused by the EU of limiting the flow of natural gas to make it easier for him to get a pipeline, the multi-billion-dollar Nord Stream 2, opened. He refuted the accusations.
There have been concerns about Russian troops at Ukraine’s frontier since April of this year. Putin had moved approximately 100,000 soldiers, tanks and artillery pieces into the area without prior warning.
Later, he said that the exercise was intended to evaluate’military capability’. He then pulled some units back. However NATO warns that many soldiers remained on the front lines even though the exercise is over.
Russia held further military drills on the Crimean peninsula, Ukraine’s east border and continued to move troops into the area.
Western powers closely monitored the drills, with tensions nearly spilling into conflict. One episode saw Russian warships firing warning shots at a British ship.
Washington has been frightened by the increase in troop and tank movements via satellite, prompting this week’s alert to European leaders concerning a potential confrontation.
CIA Director Bill Burns even flew to Moscow and have a rare one-on-one with President Vladimir Putin.
There he shared the US’s ‘serious’ concerns over the military buildup, sources told CNN.
DailyMail.com reached out to the State Department for comment but was referred to comments made on Wednesday by Secretary of State Antony Blinken, when he echoed similar concerns in a press conference with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba.
‘We’re concerned by reports of unusual Russian military activity near Ukraine. We’re monitoring the region very closely, as we always do, we’ll continue to consult closely as well with allies and partners on this issue,’ Blinken told reporters.
‘And as we’ve made clear, any escalatory or aggressive actions would be of great concern to the United States. We remain committed to de-escalation and diplomatic resolution of the conflict in east Ukraine.
As fighting heats between Russian-backed militias and Ukrainian forces, the report was issued. After Russia illegally annexed Crimea, the rebels overtook Ukraine’s president. This revolution was widely observed as another Putin mouthpiece.
Poland moved 15,000 soldiers to the border with Belarus in an effort to contain a migration crisis. The EU has accused Lukashenko, citing Lukashenko as engineering it. There have been warnings about conflict.
In an effort to spark a confrontation, the Polish soldiers have charged their Belarusian counterparts with inflaming tensions through firing blank shots and forcing migrants across the border fence.
Russia has flown nuclear-capable aircraft over Belarus – its close ally, in an act of strength amid crisis
Belarus has denied engineering the crisis. It warned that the Ukrainian armies are trying give weapons to migrants to ignite a conflict.
According to reports, the Biden administration has warned European allies about the possible attack of Russia on Ukraine. Russia denies the allegations.
Ukraine’s Joint Forces Operation (a militarized force formed in 2018 to defend Ukraine in the Donbas conflict) accused Russia of breaking the ceasefire five times within a 24-hour span on Monday.
The JFO posted a Facebook statement accusing Russia of “armed aggression”, though the Kremlin consistently denies any involvement in the conflict.
Europe has been experiencing tensions due to a lack of gas. Gazprom, Russia’s biggest energy supplier to Europe, reduced its daily output in October to help meet Putin’s demand for domestic replenishment.
Volodymyr Zelesky, President of Ukraine accused Putin in a deliberate engineering of the gas crisis. Zelensky urged Europe to quickly punish Putin.
Gazprom’s output to Europe increased earlier in the week, after Russia’s stockpile had been deemed exhausted.
The situation could get worse as the refugee crisis at the border of Poland and Russia’s neighbour Belarus threatens to make matters even more complicated.
Belarus and Poland account for a large part of Russia’s European oil supplies.
The west has accused Alexander Lukashenko, the Belarusian dictator of Weaponizing Migrants from Iraq and the Middle East over the past week. He allowed them to travel to Belarus before trying to enter the EU.
The region has seen desperate migrants being brutally treated by both soldiers and civilians. Many even died in this harsh climate of Eastern Europe.
Lukaschenko, in response to increased sanctions threats, threatened to stop oil supplies from Russia to Europe.
At the border of Belarus and Poland on November 11, migrants gathered to receive humanitarian aid from the Belarusian military. Belarus’s powerful dictator threatened to stop Europe from receiving gas from Russia, if it does not follow through with its threat of sanctions due to the rising refugee crisis in this region
Russia was also accused of being part of the ‘hybrid attacks’ that created the crisis.
He said, “I recommend that the leaders of Poland and Lithuanians think before they speak.”
NATO member states and EU members are among those threatening sanctions in response to the conflict.
Russia has also been accused of escalating the crisis, and the EU is reportedly in talks to target national airline Aeroflot as part of a new sanctions package.
On Thursday, the Kremlin stated that Russia was not involved in the migrants crisis at the Belarus-Poland border. It also rejected this suggestion as being ‘crazy’
Instead of blaming the EU, the EU claimed that it was trying to strangle’ Belarus.
In response to increasing tensions along the border, Russia’s defense ministry stated that two Tu-22M3 supersonic nuclear bombers had been seen carrying out ‘tasks for combat alert for aerial defense’.
Sergei Lavrov, Russian Foreign Minister, said at a news conference that he hopes responsible Europeans will ‘not let themselves be drawn into an spiral that’s quite dangerous’.