Olga_Lautman NYC ✨
Olga_Lautman NYC ✨ @olgaNYC1211
Remember when I was worried about 🇷🇺Zapad war games as a means of a future invasion. Looks like 🇷🇺forgot some troops
Russia left troops in Belarus after wargames: Ukraine
mobile.reuters.com/article/amp/idUSKCN1C4234
(Reuters) - Russia has left troops behind after staging war games in Belarus despite promising not to, Ukraine's Commander in Chief Viktor Muzhenko told Reuters.
In an interview on a military plane on Thursday evening, Muzhenko said Russia has withdrawn only a few units from Belarus and had lied about how many of its soldiers were there in the first place.
His comments could increase tension between the two neighbors and contradict the Belarussian defense ministry spokesman, who said the last train of Russian troops and equipment had left Belarus on Thursday. Russia's defense ministry did not respond to an immediate request for comment.
[...]
But Muzhenko said the wargames were of an offensive nature. Ukraine staged its own drills in northern Ukraine in response to Zapad and built up troops there.
"I wouldn't say that the tension has lessened. We can say tension is building up or rising," he said.
"We had information that they had withdrawn only a few units of the declared 12,500 troops, of which 3,000 were Russians, but there were significantly more of them there."
Muzhenko said the Russians had withdrawn air units from Belarus to make a show of leaving.
"Russia demonstrated, and it was primarily a demonstration, the return of aviation units -- they took off from the airfields and flew to airfields in Russia. But we understand that 300-400 km for aviation is a distance that can be overcome in a very short time," he said.