Lukashenko Announced A Surprise Inspection Of Troop Readiness Following The CIA Director's Visit To Putin

One of the brigades has been withdrawn from its deployment location.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko ordered an unannounced combat readiness inspection of the country’s Armed Forces against the backdrop of visit to Moscow by the Director of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) John Ratcliffe

Secretary of the Republic’s Security Council Alexander Volfovich reported that as part of the inspection, one of the brigades will leave its permanent deployment site and carry out a series of tasks. “We won’t discuss them yet. Everything depends on the decisions that will be made by the leadership of the Armed Forces, the General Staff, and the military units,” said Volfovich.

He also noted that special attention will be paid to methods of engaging a potential enemy “taking into account the experience of military conflicts in Ukraine and Iran.” According to him, the purpose of the exercise is to test the readiness of formations and military units to conduct combat operations under modern conditions. Volfovich also urged people not to worry that “something supernatural is happening.” Prior to this, the commander of the Special Operations Forces of the Belarusian Armed Forces Alexander Ilyukevich stated that Minsk had begun forming a new airborne assault brigade near the border with Ukraine. The unit was to be stationed in the Gomel region.

Earlier, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), citing informed sources, reported that Vladimir Putin had begun demanding that Lukashenko open a new front in Ukraine. In addition, according to the publication, Moscow hoped to use Belarus for operations against neighboring NATO member countries, including for launching drones. Against this backdrop, French President Emmanuel Macron called Lukashenko and warned him against getting drawn into the war. Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy drew attention to Belarus’s construction of military infrastructure along the Ukrainian border, which could be used for aggression against Kyiv.

CIA Director Ratcliffe paid an unannounced visit to Moscow on August 25. The Kremlin stated that he did not meet with Putin and that the U.S. official’s purpose was to facilitate “contacts between intelligence agencies.” As the WSJ notes, Ratcliffe’s visit may have been linked to U.S. intelligence information regarding Putin’s future plans. In particular, according to the publication, the Russian military conducted mobilization drills in the Kaliningrad region and other areas, testing the Defense Ministry’s infrastructure to ensure it was ready to receive conscripts and provide them with food and weapons. In addition, U.S. intelligence received information that Putin might attempt to test NATO’s resolve.

“The goal might have been to say, ‘We know what you’re planning, and you’d better not do it,’” — said former Deputy Director of U.S. National Intelligence Bett Sanner in an interview with the publication. According to him, the visit could also have been related to the ceasefire in Iran and the inclusion of another party in the negotiations.

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