The number of Russian troops in Belarus is rapidly increasing, Lithuanian Defence Minister Arvydas Anušauskas said on Wednesday.
“[The number of Russian troops in Belarus] is approaching 30,000 very fast,” the minister told reporters in Rukla, where he attended the events marking the 5th anniversary of NATO Enhanced Forward Presence battlegroup deployment in Lithuania.
According to Anušauskas, the Russian forces in Belarus “are oriented south” against Ukraine.
“Whether it is part of the exercise or not, it is already being perceived by military experts as an extremely dangerous situation, [...] first of all, for Ukraine,” he said.
Russia is hiding the real number of troops involved in the drills in Belarus, scheduled for February 10-20, Anušauskas said.
“We are well aware that most of the time, it is just a show, and for full transparency, we need detailed information about the drills, the number of participants, their composition and equipment,” the minister said.
“What we see in Belarus doesn’t correspond to the publicly declared figures,” he added.
The Kremlin says the Russian troops will leave Belarus after the drills but gives no specific date for their withdrawal.
Read more: Lithuanian military put on raised alert due to drills in Belarus
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