For the second time in the past five days, Russian and Belarusian Su-30SM fighters have conducted joint patrols along the border of Belarus. The last time the fighters flew out on patrol was Thursday, 25 November.
The Belarusian Defense Ministry clarified that joint air patrols are carried out within the framework of strengthening combat alert for air defense. “The flights are carried out according to a pre-approved plan, regardless of weather conditions and time of day,” the ministry’s Telegram channel says.
Minsk said that the patrolling was also carried out because of the “increased frequency of flights of various types of aviation” near the Belarusian state border. The head of the Belarusian Defense Ministry Viktor Khrenin said that the buildup of NATO forces near the republic’s borders is similar to the events that took place before the Great Patriotic War. The minister saw in the actions of the alliance “a set of measures to prepare for war.” Relations between Minsk and Western countries worsened in the fall due to the migration crisis.
Read about the development of the crisis in the publication of “Kommersant” “Belarusian tune, Belarusian distance”.
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