Russian troops pour into Belarus ‘by the trainload’

Russian troops are pouring into Belarus “by the trainload.”

The news comes alongside an announcement from Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko that Russian troops would return to the country, which neighbors both Russia and Ukraine, in large numbers, according to the Belarusian state news agency Belta. 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.

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A known Belarussian 🇧🇾 source tells me:

“Russian 🇷🇺 soldiers are entering Belarus 🇧🇾 by the trainload. They’re traveling in cattle cars - just a huge quantity. Just waves of trains arriving.” — Jason Jay Smart (@officejjsmart) October 10, 2022

In early October, photos on social media emerged showing Russian heavy artillery and armored vehicles being moved into Belarus by train.

"Gomel. Novobelitsa station. On the territory of Belarus, near the border with Belarus-Russia. Russian equipment this morning. SPA 2S3 152-mm Akatsiya."

GeoLocated by @Bazinga00264477 https://t.co/IODbdz09gU — GeoConfirmed (@GeoConfirmed) October 4, 2022

“This won’t be just a thousand troops,” Lukashenko told his military high command in a recent meeting, announcing the large-scale arrival of Russian troops. “Be ready to receive these people in the near future and place them where necessary, according to our plan," he said, according to the New York Times.

The Belarusian leader has also made suggestions that NATO or Ukraine are preparing aggressive actions against the country, announcing closer cooperation with Russia in response.

"Given the worsening of the situation on the western borders of the Union State, we agreed to deploy a regional group of forces of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus. This complies with our documents. It says that if the threat level reaches the level as it is now, we begin to use the Union State group of forces," Lukashenko said to military and security officials, according to Belta, referring to the European Union-style union that binds Russia and Ukraine.

"Strikes on the territory of Belarus are not just being discussed in Ukraine today, but are also being planned," he claimed, according to Reuters. "Their owners are pushing them to start a war against Belarus to drag us there. We have been preparing for this for decades. If necessary, we will respond."

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Although the movements suggest the possibility that Belarus could join the war, such a move would likely be highly unpopular in the country and further destabilize the Lukashenko regime.