The military exercises, which began in

with the participation of the armies of the Republic of Belarus and the Russian Federation on January 16 and will continue until February 1, are aimed at scaring the Belarusian people with the possibility of war and distracting the attention of Ukrainians. 

This opinion was expressed by the leader of the Belarusian opposition Svitlana Tykhanovskaya to the Reuters agency on the sidelines of the Davos Forum.

In addition, she says that with these exercises, Belarus creates the impression that dictator Oleksandr Lukashenko is doing everything to avoid conflict.

"Another goal is to threaten Ukrainians, distract them and shift the attention of their troops from the eastern part of the country to the northern borders," said the leader of the Belarusian democratic forces.

Tykhanovskaya recalled that it was the Lukashenka regime that allowed Putin to use Belarusian territory as a launching pad for missile strikes on Ukraine, fighter jets and invasion of Ukraine at the beginning of a large-scale war.

Currently, she doubts the possibility of repeating a ground attack against Ukraine from the territory of Belarus.

However, Tykhanovskaya points out that the continuation of missile strikes is a very real scenario.

"I doubt that a possible attack could happen from the ground, but missiles could be launched from the territory of Belarus at any moment... The Lukashenko regime is not sure that if it sends troops to fight the Russian army in Ukraine, the Belarusians will not go to the other side, will not hide and betray him, so the status quo is convenient for Lukashenka and Putin. Putin knows that the participation of Belarusian troops can lead to unforeseen consequences," Tsykhanovska said.

What is known about military exercises in Belarus

Large-scale military aviation exercises of Belarusians and Russians 

on January 16.

They are expected to last until February 1.

These exercises have attracted special attention due to fears that Belarus may take a direct part in a new Russian offensive against Ukraine.

On January 16, the head of the State Border Service Serhiy Deineko stated that 

Russian and Belarusian military groups on the territory of the Republic of Belarus near the borders of Ukraine.

Also, so far there have been no events within the framework of the announced joint air exercises of Russia and Belarus. 

Yuriy Ignat, the spokesman of the Air Force Command of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, assures that the repetition of an amphibious operation on the outskirts of Kyiv is a completely

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian military is closely monitoring the exercises in the north of the country and is ready to react.

The deputy commander of the Ground Forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, General Oleksandr Pavlyuk, said that

of tank-accessible terrain and routes of possible enemy advance: roads, forest strips, power lines, etc., continues.

In ISW, Minsk's direct participation in the war against Ukraine is unlikely.

According to their data, there are hostile forces on the border between Belarus and Ukraine, but such an

The

also currently sees no signs of offensive actions on the part of Belarus.

But the Polish expert says that

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