Lukašenka announces inspection of military exercises together with Putin – Kremlin refutes

February 17, BPN. At the Asipovičy training area (Mahilioŭ region), Aliaksandr Lukašenka announced that he and Russian president Vladimir Putin were going to inspect the military exercises Union Resolve 2022 during his visit to Russia on February 18 and 19.

“Yesterday at 1 p.m. we talked about the plan of action for Friday-Saturday, because the drill will continue on Saturday. The Russian side will inform you about the format of the drills and where Putin and I will be at the exercises,” Lukašenka’s press service quoted him as saying.

At the same time, the Russian president’s spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told TASS that “there is no joint inspection on Putin’s schedule, although the presidents can agree on anything.” “This is not currently on the president’s schedule,” noted Peskov.

Previously, Lukašenka stated that he was going to discuss with Putin further actions of the joint group of troops. “Whatever we decide tomorrow, that’s the way it’s going to be. We’ll decide whether we would withdraw the troops in 24 hours or whether they would stay for a month. The [Russian] Armed Forces will be here as long as necessary. This is our land and our territory. We work here, we study here, and we will continue to do that,” he said.

Union Resolve 2022 military exercises are held from February 10 to 20 as part of the Union State’s response forces inspection. Since mid-January, Russia has been actively transferring troops and military equipment to Belarus.