British military says exercises in Belarus unlikely to affect operations in Ukraine’s Donbas

Russia will likely use upcoming military exercises in Belarus to try to frighten Ukrainians into not shifting forces toward the disputed Donbas region, British military intelligence officials said Thursday.

Belarusian ground forces have been spotted moving from the garrison to the field for exercises. The drills aren’t unexpected and are in line with “seasonal norms” as Belarus kicks off the last parts of its army’s winter training cycle in May, British military analysts tweeted.

“Russia will likely seek to inflate the threat posed to Ukraine by these exercises in order to fix Ukrainian forces in the North, preventing them from being committed to the battle for the Donbas,” according to the British Defense Ministry.

British officials said they don’t believe the upcoming Belarusian exercises will pose much of a threat to allies and partners in the region.