The buildup of Russian forces in Belarus is the largest number stationed in the country since the end of the Cold War, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg claimed on Thursday.
In a statement made following a meeting with North Macedonia Prime Minister Dimitar Kovacevski, Stoltenberg accused Russia of sending combat units numbering “30,000 people,” including Spetsnaz special forces, to Belarusian training grounds.
Significant numbers of troops have been deployed to Belarus in the last few weeks, which Stoltenberg has described as the highest concentration of Russian soldiers seen in the area for decades. Among the deployed weaponry are S-400 air defense systems and Iskander mobile short-range ballistic missile systems, as well as fighter jets.