Oleg Starikov: Russia Persuaded Belarus To Create Joint Division

The remained Russian troops carry a threat for NATO.

The Russian troops, which stayed on the territory of Belarus after the end of the West-2017 military exercises carry a threat to NATO countries, military expert Oleg Starikov said in a commentary to gordonua.com.

"I predicted that the Russians would leave one of their divisions in Belarus, it turned out that the division was divided into two parts: half Russian and half Belarusian, so Russia persuaded Belarus to create a joint division, that is, the Russians found some methods to convince Minsk to work up the nerve to do that. And it is good for Moscow – it's easier to fight having an ally than alone. The matter is that all the strategic plans of the Western Military District of the Russian Armed Forces are aimed at the NATO countries, that is, they confront the West," – Starikov says.

"The grouping of Russian troops in Belarus will carry a threat to Ukraine, if the Russian Federation goes to the length of a full-scale war. The enemy troops will go conduct an attack from the eastern direction, both from the Crimea and from the north," – Starikov says.

Military exercises in Belarus with the participation of Russian troops took place from September 14 to September 20. On September 21, Russia started to draw out its equipment from the country.

Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine Oleksandr Turchynov stated that during the exercises, the Russian military were practicing for conducting a massive nuclear attack.

On September 28, in an interview to Reuters, head of the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Viktor Muzhenko reported that Russia had not drawn out all its military units from Belarus after the West-2017 exercises. The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation denies this statement.

The General Staff of the Supreme Armed Forces declared that after the end of the exercises, 5,800 Russian servicemen had not left Belarus.