MINSK, March 5. /TASS/. Poland and the three Baltic nations - Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia - host 17 US and NATO battalion tactical groups, which are heavily armed, Pavel Muraveiko, chief of the Belarusian General Staff, said.
"The size of troops stationed near our border has been increased. Apart from their national armed forces, the Baltic countries and Poland currently host 17 US and NATO battalion tactical groups, which are equipped with advanced weapons and military hardware," the BelTA news agency quoted him as saying.
Muraveiko described the situation along the Belarusian border as challenging. According to him, the neighboring countries have significantly enhanced military buildup in the past few years. "The number of drills has doubled and even tripled. Meanwhile, their focus remains on offensive actions and related aggressive operations in various directions," the chief of the Belarusian General Staff noted.
According to Muraveiko, Western countries constantly monitor the territory of Belarus, with the intensity of intelligence operations rising about five-fold compared to 2020. "In the past, we recorded two to three flights a week but now, the number of flights ranges between five and six, sometimes reaching ten, as aircraft monitor our territory," he stated. Satellite intelligence has also been stepped up, the Belarusian General Staff chief added. "We are aware of satellites regularly scanning our territory from different angles," Muraveiko said.