Russia has deployed paratroopers to Belarus amid the migration crisis and the threat of EU sanctions, which may affect, among other things, Aeroflot.

Subscribe to Finanz.ru in Telegram

On Friday, as part of a surprise check of the combat readiness of the Airborne Forces, Russian units were deployed to the Grodno region for joint tactical exercises with units of the Belarusian armed forces. reports “Interfax” with reference to the press service of the Ministry of Defense.

Notes RIA News…

On Wednesday, strategic bombers of the Russian Aerospace Forces Tu-22m3 flew to Belarus. Aircraft carrying nuclear weapons “performed patrols in the airspace of the Republic of Belarus” and practiced “interaction with ground control points,” the Defense Ministry reported.

Poland, in turn, announced on Friday that British troops will arrive in the country to reconnoitre the area and help local soldiers to fortify the barriers that are trying to break through several thousand Middle Eastern migrants.

Sources in the Polish Ministry of Defense reported to PAP agencythat the size of the British contingent will be determined after an assessment of the situation. London has officially confirmed the dispatch of a “small” military force.

On November 15, the foreign ministers of the EU countries will gather for an external meeting, where they have to approve the next, fifth package of sanctions in Belarus, which will include about 30 individuals and legal entities.

Among them – the national carrier “BelAvia”, which is suspected of mass transportation of migrants, as well as Foreign Minister Vladimir Makei. Attempts to negotiate a solution to the crisis with the Kremlin seem to have been unsuccessful. And about. German Chancellor Angela Merkel held two telephone conversations with Vladimir Putin, a certain position on Lukashenko, whom the West does not recognize as the Belarusian president, considering the 2020 elections to be rigged.

But Putin, according to the Kremlin press service, each time gave one answer: to resolve the crisis, it is necessary to “restore contacts between the EU states and Belarus.” But Brussels does not want to talk to Lukashenko, whom it does not consider legitimate. Lukashenka responded with hysterical threats. On Thursday, he threatened to stop gas supplies via the Yamal-Europe pipeline, hinting at a nuclear war a day earlier.

“If we make a mistake, if we stumble, it will immediately draw Russia into this maelstrom. And this is the most powerful nuclear power, ”Lukashenka said.

The official representative of the EU foreign policy service Peter Stano urged “not to take” these statements “seriously”.