The Russian-Belarusian large-scale military exercise Soyuznaya Reshimost (Allied Resolve) 2022 forms a critical dimension in Moscow’s war planning against Ukraine (see EDM, January 20). The Union State exercise, scheduled for February 10–20, will reportedly take place in the western and southern border areas of Belarus, marking the largest deployment of Russia’s Armed Forces to that country since the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. Soyuznaya Reshimost 2022 is notably occurring within the context of Russia’s unprecedented military buildup close to Ukraine’s borders (Rossiyskaya Gazeta, January 22). The forces being deployed include units from Russia’s Eastern Military District (MD). Their presence there effectively expands the encirclement of Ukraine and sends a strategic message to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) to stay out of the coming conflict (Kommersant, January 25).
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