No Russian troops will remain on Belarusian soil following the February 20 scheduled end of military drills. Belarus’s Foreign Minister, Vladimir Makei, declared at a press conference yesterday: “Not a single serviceman, not a single unit of military equipment [from Russia] will remain after this [completion of drills]. This has also been stated by the Defense Ministry; President Lukashenko has also said this, and the Belarusian side stated this during various events within the OSCE framework.”
Further, Makei noted that the Russian-Belarusian drills were scheduled in advance. “This exercise helps test the combat readiness of the Union State’s forces and means. The fact that they take place on Belarusian soil is quite justified. We see the activity displayed by NATO at our western border and in Ukraine. And this is the response to the actions undertaken by our Western partners.”