Defense officials decry NATO’s build-up as Russia increases military spending
December 9, Pozirk. After Russian President Vladimir Putin approved a record-breaking defense budget, Belarusian and Russian officials ramped up their rhetorical attacks on NATO.
Minsk has recorded NATO’s “abnormal activity” near the border with Belarus long before 2020, defense official Valeryj Ravienka told STV in an interview broadcast yesterday.
NATO has been steadily increasing combat readiness of its troops, moved more equipment to the area and conducted large-scale exercises, concealing their true scale, he claimed.
The official described NATO’s Steadfast Defender major multi-domain exercise earlier this year as “a new round” in the military build-up to show NATO’s readiness “for some decisive actions” to Belarus and Russia.
However, Belarusian-Russian integration made the West realize that Moscow and Minsk “will not sacrifice their interests,” Ravienka noted.
“We are gradually upgrading our weapons and military equipment,” he said, noting that Belarus’ personnel numbers remain unchanged in contrast to Poland, whose army doubled over the past five years.
“We are demonstrating to our neighbors that we maintain peacetime numbers. This means that we do not represent a threat, do not plan to set up offensive groups of troops and want to live with you [western neighbors] in a world of friendship and harmony,” Ravienka said.
He accused unnamed Belarus’ neighbors of hosting and training “illegal armed groups” of Belarusian exiles who allegedly threaten Belarus with aggression.
“Yes, there is such a threat and we take it into account. We are ready to counter all threats. . . [The response] will be tough,” he added.
This statement may refer to the Kastuś Kalinoŭski Regiment of Belarusian volunteers who are fighting Russia in Ukraine, while authorities in Minsk support the Kremlin in the full-scale war that started in February 2022.
Meanwhile, Viktor Vasilyev, Russia’s representative to the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), said that NATO’s military build-up at the border may involve “a potential deployment of facilities capable of carrying nuclear warheads.”
“The strategic situation has also worsened after Finland and Sweden joined the North Atlantic Alliance,” he told the bloc’s Soyuziniki. ODKB journal.
The statements come days after two CSTO members – Belarus and Russia – signed an interstate treaty on security guarantees. It provides for the use of Russian tactical nuclear weapons deployed in Belarus in response to a hypothetical attack on Belarus.
Minsk allowed Russia to deploy tactical nuclear munitions in Belarus last spring. In late 2023, Łukašenka confirmed their delivery. A leaked CIA report suggested that nukes might be stored in the Mahiloŭ region yet the BelPol opposition group said later there was no evidence of their presence in Belarus.
The accusations of NATO build-up come days after Russian President Vladimir Putin approved a record-breaking defense budget, setting aside a staggering third of the government’s total spending.
The budget for 2025, which was published on December 1, allocates about $126 billion (13.5 trillion rubles) to national defense – amounting to 32.5 percent of government spending.
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