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Russia and Belarus hold the largest military exercise in their history
In the next ten days, the largest military exercises in the history of Russia and Belarus will take place, in a clear show of power for Ukraine, which has received military and economic support from the United States and NATO.
Russian and Belarusian troops began joint military exercises on Belarusian territory on Thursday to increase border protection.
The Russian Ministry of Defense issued a statement assuring that the exercises are carried out to fulfill the task of repressing any threat defensively. In addition, they seek to counteract terrorism and protect the interests of the State of the Union.
The troops will carry out training to block the supply of weapons and ammunition, as well as the search and elimination of enemy forces.
These exercises, called Determination of Union, have an end date of February 20. It is an operation that takes place in the training camps located in the Minsk district and in the Brest province.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and Vladimir Putin reached an agreement in December to carry out these military exercises on Belarusian territory.
The Belarusian president at the time thanked Putin for his support for the harsh sanctions applied by the European Union against Belarus, and for the pandemic. As a token of that appreciation, Belarus would offer to cooperate militarily with Russia.
Neither Ukraine nor Russia have revealed how many soldiers are deployed in these exercises. On the other hand, the United States estimates that Russia has sent 30,000 troops to Belarus.
Days ago, Vladimir Putin assured that these troops would not stay in that region permanently, on the contrary, they would return once the operation is over.
He has also maintained that there will be no invasion of Ukraine. However, the United States and NATO have declared that they do not trust Russia's promises.
Currently, Russia has deployed more than 100,000 soldiers in different camps within its territory. The United States and the Alliance assure that they are very close to the border.
On the other hand, Yuri Korchagin, Russian ambassador to Spain, assures that the deployed soldiers are more than 300 kilometers away, and that they are not any kind of threat to Ukraine.
