For months Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, a key ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, has been pining to get involved in the Ukraine war, and it now appears as though he’ll get his wish. But the escalation is not likely to end well, either for his country or for Russia.
According to the Washington Examiner, Russian troops are pouring into Belarus “by the trainload,” which likely means they will join forces with Belarussan forces in a new push to retake lost ground in neighboring Ukraine:
Tens of thousands of Russian troops used Belarus as the staging ground for their initial northern offensive into Ukraine in February but mostly withdrew by late March. Since then, a few hundred Russian troops have stayed behind, mostly air and missile troops that use the close Russian ally as a launching pad for missile strikes into Ukraine, but that now appears to be changing.
“Russian soldiers are entering Belarus by the trainload. They’re traveling in cattle cars — just a huge quantity. Just waves of trains arriving,” a Belarusian source told Kyiv Post correspondent Jason Jay Smart.
Earlier this month, photos of Russian heavy artillery and armored vehicles moving into the territory of Moscow’s ally were posted to social media. The equipment was also moved into Belarus by train.
“This won’t be just a thousand troops,” Lukashenko told his military high command during a meeting when he announced the large-scale arrival of Russian firces. “Be ready to receive these people in the near future and place them where necessary, according to our plan,” he added, according to the New York Times.