Russia moves Sukhoi Su-30 fighter jets to Belarus to patrol borders, Minsk says

MOSCOW, Sept. 8 (Reuters) – Russia has sent Sukhoi Su-30 fighter jets to western Belarus to form a joint military training center, pilot joint missions and patrol the two countries’ borders, it said on Wednesday. Belarusian Ministry of Defense.

The announcement comes two days before the start of military exercises in Belarus and Russia that have caused consternation to the NATO military alliance and the countries of the European Union.

Belarus has been facing the West since President Alexander Lukashenko unleashed a violent crackdown on mass street protests last year. Tensions have pushed Belarus back on its traditional ally Russia for financial and diplomatic support.

Lukashenko will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Thursday. Earlier this month, Lukashenko said Russia would soon deliver a huge shipment of military hardware to Belarus, including planes, helicopters and air defense systems.

Russian planes “arrived at Baranovichi airfield to form a joint training center for the air and defense forces of Belarus and Russia,” the ministry said in a statement. The statement did not indicate how many planes landed in Baranovichi.

The planes “will carry out joint combat tasks to protect the air borders of the State of the Union.”

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg last week urged Russia to be transparent in conducting the “Zapad-2021” (“West-2021”) exercises. Poland said on Monday that the exercises would fuel tensions already rising over the influx of migrants crossing the border from Belarus into the EU.

Russia sees Belarus as a security buffer on its western flank against NATO and the EU.

Russia and Belarus are formally part of a “union state” and have held talks for years to further integrate their nations.

Negotiations have long sparked fears among the besieged Belarusian opposition that Lukashenko could exchange pieces of sovereignty in exchange for even more political support from the Kremlin.

Reports by Vladimir Soldatkin and Alexander Marrow; written by Matthias Williams and Jonathan Oatis

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