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Russian fighter aircraft over Belarus (on November 11th)
Photo: AP
Belarus and the allied Russia announced joint military exercises in the Belarusian region of Grodno near the Polish border on Friday.
The Ministry of Defense in Minsk justified the move with the "increase in military activity" near the Belarusian border.
Belarus and Russia are apparently reacting to the stationing of Polish soldiers on the Belarusian-Polish border.
Belarusian Defense Minister Viktor Chrenin said in a video address that Minsk would "react with harshness" to any attack.
He described the communication with the West, which consists of "ultimatums, threats and blackmail", as "unacceptable".
The background to the dispute is the refugee dispute between the EU and Belarus.
At the EU's external border in Poland, thousands of people, especially from the Middle East, are currently stuck in freezing temperatures.
Poland has stationed 15,000 soldiers in the area and erected a fence made of barbed wire because of the crowds.
Belarus is now apparently taking this as an opportunity for its own military maneuver together with Russia.
Belarus will "react appropriately" to attempts at intimidation and unfounded accusations, said Minister Chrenin in Minsk.
The Belarusian armed forces are in a position to "guarantee the security of the country, if necessary together with our most important strategic ally, Russia."
Ten refugees died near the border
In a makeshift camp in the border area between Poland and Belarus, more than 2,000 refugees are currently waiting under the most difficult conditions.
Ten people have already died there in the past few weeks, according to a report in the Polish newspaper "Gazeta Wyborcza".
Many of the refugees hope to get to Germany via Belarus.
According to their own information, the Federal Police registered unauthorized entries since the beginning of November until Thursday 1488.
A total of 9,329 unauthorized entries have taken place via Belarus since the beginning of the year, the authority announced on Friday.
mfh / AFP
