Russia and Belarus are planning to set up three training centers to jointly train soldiers, Gennady Lepeshko, a senior Belarusian security and defense official, claimed on Dec. 3, state-controlled news outlet Belta reported.
"Training is underway in military educational institutions of both countries," Lepeshko said.
Training centers are expected to be established in Belarus' Hrodna Oblast, as well as in Russia's Nizhny Novgorod and Kaliningrad oblasts.
According to the Belarusian official, Minsk and Moscow have signed more than 160 agreements on military cooperation and continue providing their armed forces with "the most modern military equipment."
The Kyiv Independent could not verify these claims.
While Belarus, an ally of Russia, has not directly participated in the war, it has allowed the Kremlin to use its territory as a staging ground for its operations against Ukraine. The country is also reportedly hosting Russian tactical nuclear arms on its territory.
Russian troops operated a torture chamber in the Belarusian town of Naroulia in the spring of 2022, the Belarusian Investigative Center (BIC) reported in late November. Ukrainian prisoners of war and civilians abducted from Ukraine were reportedly held there.
Maria Yeryoma
