Moscow- Defence Minister of Belarus Victor Khrenin on Sunday released a statement that Moscow and Minsk had come to finalize a decision to continue the joint military exercise to test the Union State’s response force.
Khrenin said while wrapping up the preliminary results of the Russia-Belarus military drills “Union Courage 2022” scheduled to conclude on Sunday.
The Minister was quoted as saying that, “Due to the increasing military activity near the external borders of the Union State and the aggravation of the situation in Donbas, the presidents of the Republic of Belarus and the Russian Federation decided to continue testing the Union State’s response forces.”
The exercise is aiming to test the Union State’s defence stages for ensuring “an adequate response and de-escalation of military prepping by adversaries” near the Russian and Belarusian borders.
Khrenin further added that neighbouring nations are continuously “pumping up” with modern weapons, with NATO’s level of readiness being raised from seven to five days in the event of an escalation in Ukraine.
The Minister added that, “There is a very powerful smell of gunpowder in Europe. It is being deliberately driven towards a war.”
Starting Friday, the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk people’s republics (DPR and LPR) have been reporting that the Ukrainian security forces are shelling populated areas in Donbas, using artillery mounts and mortars, in direct violation of the Minsk agreements. Earlier in the day, the LPR reported that two civilians died after an alleged attack of the Ukrainian military on the Pionerskoye settlement.