{"id":11554,"date":"2023-04-12T15:17:05","date_gmt":"2023-04-12T12:17:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/api.pozirk.online\/longreads\/russia-looking-to-expand-its-military-presence-in-belarus\/"},"modified":"2026-02-24T20:29:13","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T20:29:13","slug":"russia-looking-to-expand-its-military-presence-in-belarus","status":"publish","type":"longreads","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/11554\/","title":{"rendered":"Russia looking to expand its military presence in Belarus"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n By Alaksandr K\u0142asko\u016dski, BPN<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n Alaksandr \u0141uka\u0161enka wants Russia to defend Belarus as its own territory, he told Sergei Shoigu, the Russian defense minister who made a surprise visit to Minsk on April 10.<\/span><\/b>\n<\/p>\n

\n\t The visit came four days after the Belarusian ruler had held security talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.\n<\/p>\n

Full security guarantees<\/h2>\n

\n\t \u0141uka\u0161enka pointed out to Shoigu that he was expecting Russia to defend Belarus like its own territory \u201cin the event of aggression against Belarus.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\t \u201cWe need full security guarantees from our brotherly Russia,\u201d he said.\n<\/p>\n

Framework expansion<\/h2>\n

\n\t Shoigu told \u0141uka\u0161enka before the talks, which were held without media being present, that he would like to discuss Russian troops\u2019 military presence and training in Belarus and \u201cthe framework expansion, which you discussed together with Vladimir Vladimirovich [Putin].\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\t He thanked the Belarusian ruler for providing military instructors and allowing Russian troops to use Belarus\u2019 five trainings grounds.\n<\/p>\n

Possible expansion options<\/h2>\n

\n\t \u201cThe framework expansion\u201d is definitely about new forms and scale of Russian military presence in Belarus following the establishment of a joint regional group of forces last year.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t The expansion may be limited to training programs for Russian draftees at Belarusian training grounds. But it may also lead to Belarusian troops\u2019 deeper involvement in the Russian war against Ukraine.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t Poland and Lithuania fear that Russia seeks to expand the conflict zone by attacking the Suwalki gap, NATO\u2019s weakest spot, from Belarus.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t Russia may deploy more forces to Belarus and set up a military base under the guise of protecting the tactical nuclear weapons, which Moscow is planning to store in the country.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t \u0141uka\u0161enka pointed out the need for revising the bilateral legal framework \u201cto ensure full security of Belarus.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\t In late 2021, Alaksandr Valfovi\u010d, state secretary of the Security Council, said that the two defense ministers had signed a protocol that allowed the two countries \u201cto organize any group of forces in terms of composition and numbers as required by the situation.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n\t At the time, the protocol appeared to remove all remaining legal limits on Russian military presence.\n<\/p>\n

Empire uses its ally<\/h2>\n

\n\t \u0141uka\u0161enka repeatedly stressed that it was his idea to pursue closer military ties with Moscow across the board. Putin, when announcing his decision to site nuclear weapons in Belarus, stressed four times that the move would be made in response to requests from the ally.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t \u0141uka\u0161enka fears that the West may use military force to topple his regime. Earlier, he expressed sympathy for Muammar al-Gaddafi and Saddam Hussein.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t Belarusian officials are concerned about the opposition\u2019s armed resistance plan called Pieramoha and the Kastu\u015b Kalino\u016dski Regiment formed of Belarusian volunteers fighting alongside with the Ukrainian Armed Forces.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t \u0141uka\u0161enka had warned officials that they would face reprisals if opponents took power.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t \u201cAfter all, I understand better than others that if there is no \u0141uka\u0161enka, his children would come under pressure from all sides. They will pressure and victimize your children, especially those who stood by my side in 2020 and stood our ground together with me,\u201d he said on March 31. He has a genuine existential fear.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t He sees heavy Russian military presence as a key guarantee of his power and physical security of his family.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t But it does not mean that \u0141uka\u0161enka runs the creeping expansion of Russian military presence.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t He simply has no choice as he would be unseated without the Kremlin\u2019s support. That is why he claimed on March 31 that he had invited and controlled the Russian troops present on the Belarusian soil. He claimed that his purpose was peace and stability, but would not elaborate on concerns that Russian nuclear weapons would expose Belarus to retaliation strikes if Russia launches a nuclear attack on Ukraine.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t The Russian empire uses the Belarusian ruler\u2019s weaknesses and his drastic circumstances to enslave Belarus and drag it into its global game against the West.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Alaksandr K\u0142asko\u016dski, BPN Alaksandr \u0141uka\u0161enka wants Russia to defend Belarus as its own territory, he told Sergei Shoigu, the Russian defense minister who made a surprise visit to Minsk on April 10. The visit came four days after the Belarusian ruler had held security talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow. Full security guarantees […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":75,"featured_media":0,"template":"","rubric":[22],"class_list":["post-11554","longreads","type-longreads","status-publish","hentry","rubric-theviewer"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nRussia looking to expand its military presence in Belarus | Pozirk<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"By Alaksandr K\u0142asko\u016dski, BPN Alaksandr \u0141uka\u0161enka wants Russia to defend Belarus as its own territory, he told Sergei Shoigu, the Russian defense\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/11554\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Russia looking to expand its military presence in Belarus | Pozirk\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By 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