Russia has warned against the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s (NATO) increasing military deployment in Ukraine, citing escalated tensions, and said doing so would risk crossing President Vladimir Putin’s “red lines.” Belarus, a close ally of Russia, echoed similar sentiments and committed to taking action against NATO’s growing activity in the region.
On Monday, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko accused the United States (US) of setting up training camps in Ukraine, referring to them as military bases. He said, “You see, they are dragging NATO troops there, to Ukraine. Under the guise of training centres, they are creating bases. The United States is creating bases in Ukraine. It is clear that we need to react to this.”
Additionally, he warned of a joint response with Russia to counter military exercises of troops from NATO member countries in Ukraine. “It’s clear we need to react to this...(We) agreed that we need to take some measures in response,” he said.
When questioned about the joint measures mentioned by Lukashenko, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said, “These are actions that ensure the security of the two of our states. President Putin has repeatedly noted the issue of the potential broadening of NATO infrastructure on Ukrainian territory, and (he) has said this would cross those red lines that he has spoken about before.”
Russia’s comments came after NATO raised concern over the Russian military’s build-up near eastern Ukraine last week. The US has pledged support to Ukraine in case of any Russian aggression.
Rejecting Putin’s “red lines” outside Russia’s borders, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said in a tweet: “Putin’s “red lines” are limited to the territory of the Russian Federation. From our side of the Russian-Ukrainian border, we will figure out for ourselves what to do in the interests of the Ukrainian people and the security of Ukraine and Europe.”
Ukraine has been at war with Russia-backed separatists since the annexation of Crimea in 2014. Despite not being a NATO member, Ukraine has sought closer ties with Western countries and their militaries amid fraught relations with Russia.
Last week, Ukraine held defence exercises with US and NATO troops. A spokesperson for Ukraine’s Defence Ministry confirmed that 4,000 Ukrainian and 2,000 foreign troops participated in the “Rapid Trident-2021” military drill that will end on October 1. The training commander of the Ukrainian forces, Ihor Palahniuk, said, “I believe that each of you will concentrate all your knowledge, all your efforts to show the aggressor countries that they have no chance.”
Around the same time, Belarus and Russia conducted military drills involving 20,000 troops near NATO and European Union borders. Moreover, approximately 20 Russian warships engaged in large-scale live-fire exercises in the Black Sea.