Russia expands troops in Belarus - "Preparation for combat operations"
Created: 12/25/2022, 5:30 p.m
By: Daniel Dillman
Russia is building a field hospital in Belarus - just like it did shortly before the start of the Ukraine war.
Ruler Lukashenko travels to Moscow.
MINSK – A fire broke out at an oil refinery in Belarus.
The fire in the "Naftan oil refinery" near the city of Wizebsk in the north-west of the country was discovered on Sunday morning (December 25, 2022).
This was reported by the Belarusian Ministry of Emergencies. The news portal Ukrainska Pravda from Ukraine reported on this.
The fire was extinguished shortly after it broke out.
No people are said to have been injured in the accident.
A cause of the fire has not yet been announced.
A commission has been set up to take care of the investigation.
A Russian army tank takes part in military maneuvers in Belaurs, near the border with Ukraine.
© HANDOUT/AFP
Ukraine News: Will Belarus still be a party to the war?
Due to the ongoing war in Ukraine, Belarus had recently become the focus of public attention again.
The country north of Ukraine is considered a close ally of Russia.
President Vladimir Putin recently visited ruler Alexander Lukashenko in the Belarusian capital of Minsk.
In the meantime, Russia is strengthening its troops stationed in Belarus in the Ukraine war.
This is reported unanimously by the US Institute for War Studies (ISW) and the Ukrainian military.
Moscow is moving more battalions to the Ukrainian border with Belarus.
While the ISW still considers a Russian attack on Ukraine from Belarusian soil to be unlikely, the danger must be taken seriously.
The construction of a field hospital is seen as an indication of a planned offensive.
Russia had set up such military hospitals near the border shortly before the start of hostilities in the Ukraine conflict in February 2022.
"Field hospitals are not necessary for exercises and can be an indication of the preparation for combat operations," said the ISW.
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Ukraine News: Lukashenko meets Putin in Moscow
The ruler in Minsk, in turn, arrived in Moscow on Saturday for a state visit.
There Lukashenko again stressed that his country would not take part in a war against Ukraine.
Due to the numerous cooperations with Moscow, Belarus is seen in Kyiv just as much as a warring party, just as Moscow sees the role of the West.
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Lukashenko's state visit is part of an informal summit of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).
The union of states from the former Soviet republics emerged from the collapse of the USSR a good 30 years ago.
The end of the month also marks the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Soviet Union.
(dil/dpa)
