Russian, Belarusian troops preparing for escalation – Ukrainian general

October 27, BPN. Russian and Belarusian armed forces and security agencies are systemically preparing for an escalation, Ukrainian General Oleksii Gromov told journalists on October 27.

“Officers of the Russian Armed Forces are involved in assessing the readiness of [Belarusian] military units in the Hrodna, Brest, and Homiel regions [of Belarus],” he said, noting that entire western Belarus would be placed on high alert under the guise of training.

Gromov pointed out that Belarusian officials and security officers held meetings with workers at factories, at which they portrayed Ukraine as an enemy and warned of possible pre-emptive actions against Ukraine and NATO.

On October 21, Ukraine warned Belarus that it will use the full range of weapons and target military installations in Belarus should the latter send troops to Ukraine to fight on the Russian side.