Key ally sends troops to Russia

Belarus says rocket and air defense units will conduct exercises amid Ukraine’s incursion into Kursk Region

Belarus is sending rocket and artillery troops to Russia for military exercises, the Defense Ministry in Minsk announced on Tuesday.

The drills will involve the use of multiple rocket launch systems at an unspecified military range in Russia, the short message said.

On Monday, Minsk reported that it had also sent air defense forces for joint exercises with Russian troops. The Belarusian soldiers have been flown in on an Il-76 airlifter to Ashuluk range in Astrakhan Region in southern Russia, according to the statements.

The movement of troops comes amid a Ukrainian incursion into Russia’s Kursk Region, which began a week ago and indirectly involved Belarus when Kiev launched kamikaze drones through the country’s airspace.

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Shot-down Ukrainian drones full of NATO electronics – Minsk

Minsk is not directly involved in the Ukraine conflict, but its air defenses, which are integrated with Russia’s, intercepted some drones and helped Russian forces target others, according to Belarusian officials.

”The downed drones appear to have been assembled [by Ukraine] together with NATO engineers,” Belarusian news agency Belta reported last week, after the crash sites were investigated.

Minsk has previously accused Kiev of staging provocations near its border. Amid the hostilities in Kursk Region, which is around 180km from Belarus, the country has beefed up its military presence around the border with Ukraine.

Kiev has said its incursion into internationally recognized Russian territory is intended to pressure Moscow into accepting a “just peace.” The troops were told that they should seize as much Russian land as possible to later swap it for other territories claimed by Kiev, according to a Ukrainian prisoner of war involved in the incursion who was interviewed by Russia’s Federal Security Service.

READ MORE: No talks with Kiev after attack on civilians – Putin

On Monday, President Vladimir Putin ruled out talks with Kiev due to the conduct of the Ukrainian troops. He accused them of indiscriminately attacking Russian civilians in Kursk Region.

The Russian Defense Ministry estimated Ukrainian losses in the offensive at 1,610 as of Monday.