The United States is closely monitoring the Russian military presence in Belarus and will continue to do so, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said during a briefing on Dec. 19.
"We have long been concerned by Belarus’s role in Russia’s aggression. Belarus has enabled Russia’s war against Ukraine, providing support for Russia and allowing Belarusian territory to be used as a staging ground for Russian forces," Jean-Pierre said.
"We continue to monitor Russia’s force posture closely. That’s something that we have been doing and will continue to do, including in Belarus, and remain in close contact with Ukraine as they valiantly defend themselves against Russian aggression," she said.
Russian dictator Vladimir Putin met with Belarus dictator Alexander Lukashenko in Minsk on Dec. 19 amid a growing number of reports that Russia is stepping up its deployment of military vehicles to Belarus.
Belarusian Hajun, a watchdog that monitors the movement of Russian troops, said that Russia had transferred at least 50 Ural military trucks to Belarus on Dec. 16.
Russia has also reportedly deployed additional military aircraft to Belarus, including those capable of carrying Kinzhal ballistic missiles.
