Key Putin ally warns NATO that it’s ready for combat | CPT PPP Coverage

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Russia’s neighbor and ally Belarus has warned NATO that it is in a state of “high combat readiness” as Moscow’s war with Ukraine continues.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, an autocratic ruler who has repeatedly faced international accusations of human rights abuses and election rigging, is one of Russian President Vladimir Putin‘s closest allies.

Concerns have been rising that Lukashenko’s relationship with Putin could result in the Russia-Ukraine war expanding, potentially to include NATO. The country shares its borders with Russia, Ukraine and NATO members Poland, Lithuania and Latvia.

Belarus announced earlier this week that it had adopted a new military doctrine allowing for the use of nuclear weapons. Last month, Lukashenko said that a shipment of tactical nuclear weapons from Russia had been completed. Moscow is expected to maintain control over the weapons.

On Friday, Belarusian Defense Minister Viktor Khrenin said the new doctrine was “an important part of deterrence efforts to prevent potential adversaries from unleashing an act of armed aggression against Belarus,” according to Russian state news agency TASS.

Khrenin argued that the “forced measure” was intended to convince NATO states to “restore a pragmatic dialogue” under the condition that “they stop aggressive rhetoric and actions against us.” He warned that Belarusians were “ready to protect their country with all forces and means.”

“Of course, the provocations, armed actions and incidents from our neighbors’ side do not constitute a military conflict,” said Khrenin. “But it is necessary to react to them. And, first and foremost—via measures of strategic deterrence.”

“And this is what we do now, by showing high combat readiness of all components of military organization of the state,” he added.

Newsweek reached out for comment to NATO via online press contact form on Friday.

Belarusian Security Council Secretary Alexander Volfovich said earlier this week that the nuclear weapons deployment was “forced” due to “statements by our neighbors, in particular Poland,” according to the Associated Press.

NATO has recently been fortifying its borders near Belarus. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov accused Poland of displaying “hostility” towards Russia and Belarus after the country deployed troops along its eastern border last July.

Lithuanian Defense Minister Arvydas Anušauskas told Newsweek in November that his nation and other nearby NATO states were bolstering their “deterrence posture on the Eastern flank” and would “defend every inch of NATO’s territory.”

NATO announced on Thursday that it would be launching its largest training exercise in 35 years next week. Approximately 90,000 troops are expected to take part in a “simulated emerging conflict scenario” in locations that include Poland and the Baltic states.

The Estonian Defense Ministry said in a statement on Friday that Estonia and its Baltic neighbors Latvia and Lithuania would soon begin “building anti-mobility defensive installations on the borders with Russia and Belarus.”

The installations, which the ministry said would be completed “in the coming years,” are intended to “deter and, if necessary, defend against military threats.”