SBGS Spox: Around 2,000 Russian Troops Stationed In Belarus

(MENAFN- UkrinForm) As of today, there are about 2,000 Russian military personnel on the territory of Belarus, who are engaged in logistics and supply issues.

This was reported by the spokesman for the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine, Andriy Demchenko, in a comment to Ukrinform.

According to him, in 2023, when Russia actually kept some of its units on the territory of Belarus under the guise of exercises, training, and coordination with Belarusian units,“there were about 10-12,000 Russian forces there.” There were rotations, but the average number of Russian troops was at this level.

“What we saw next was a one-way rotation, which means that Russia was actually withdrawing them [the military] from the territory of Belarus in order to strengthen its grouping in the east, in the areas of active hostilities, and did not bring in new ones. And at the moment, there is no strike group or large number of Russian military there. There may still be some soldiers, some units on the territory of Belarus, but these are more logistics and support units, including aviation, electronic warfare units, and other things, and this number may be somewhere around 2,000,” Demchenko said.

He clarified that he was not talking about combat units that could launch assault operations.

Commenting on the upcoming Russian-Belarusian Zahid 2025 exercise scheduled for September, the spokesman noted that the deployment of Russian troops to Belarus could begin several months in advance.

“It can happen in a few months, and we need to understand what base they will use. Even if the exercises there are Belarusian-Russian, we cannot rule out that Belarusian units will go to Russia,” said Demchenko, reminding that these exercises were often used to inflame the situation.

He reiterated that the Belarusian direction remains a threat to Ukraine, and“no less attention is paid to it, even if the situation here is calmer than on the border with Russia.”

The SBGS spokesperson emphasized that the Defense Forces continue to strengthen the border and build fortifications.

“As long as Belarus supports Russia, intelligence units, all our measures will be aimed at having advance information about what is happening in Belarus, how much it can pose a threat to Ukraine. Those units that are on the border with Belarus - both border guards and the Security Service of Ukraine... including with the help of local authorities, are building up fortifications in order to have strong defensive positions,” Demchenko said.

He added that Ukrainian intelligence will know about the deployment of troops to participate in the exercises in time.

Read also: SBGS drones destroy Russian armored vehicles hidden in Serebriansky fores

As reported, the Russian-Belarusian exercise“Zahid-2025” will take place in mid-September 2025 with the participation of more than 13 thousand people.

On January 14-16, Belarus hosted a staff exercise of the Joint Command of the regional grouping of troops in preparation for the Zahid-2025 exercise. During the exercise, the decision to use the grouping to protect the military security of the so-called Union State was practiced.

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