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Russian troops near Polish border

29.08.2021 16:00
Russian anti-aircraft missile troops have arrived in Belarus near the border with Poland, the Polish state-run PAP news agency has said.
Airborne units take part in the Army 2021 International Military Technical Forum in Patriot Park in Alabino, Moscow region, Russia, 28 August 2021.
Airborne units take part in the 'Army 2021' International Military Technical Forum in Patriot Park in Alabino, Moscow region, Russia, 28 August 2021. Photo: EPA/Maxim Shipenkov, EPA/PAP

The soldiers will be stationed in the city of Grodno near the border with two EU members Poland and Lithuania, where they are expected to set up a training centre,  PAP said on Saturday quoting the Belarus Defence Ministry.

Russian Su-30SM fighter jests are also set to arrive early September at the Baranavichy area, some 150 km from the Polish border, PAP also wrote. The number of jets and the size of the troop deployment were not disclosed.

The announcement comes amid tensions between Belarus and its two neighbours which it accuses of meddling in its affairs by offering refuge to Belarusian opposition leaders and activists who have denounced strongman Alexander Lukashenko's election victory last year.

Russia, however, has maintained close military and economic ties with Belarus while Western countries have ostracised the country since Lukashenko cracked down on mass protests that erupted after the disputed presidential election.

Both Poland and the Baltic states of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia have recently accused Minsk of supporting an unlawful entry of growing numbers of illegal migrants from Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan into their countries.  

A Belarusian opposition journalist has claimed that the influx bears all the hallmarks of a deliberate political act by the Lukashenko regime.

(mo)

Source: PAP, Reuters