Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has ordered a surprise combat-readiness inspection of the country’s armed forces as CIA Director John Ratcliffe makes an unannounced visit to Moscow.
One Belarusian brigade will leave its permanent base and carry out a series of undisclosed tasks as part of the inspection, Alexander Volfovich, secretary of Belarus’ Security Council, said on Aug. 26.
“We will not talk about them for now,” Volfovich said, adding that the tasks would depend on decisions by Belarus’ military leadership and General Staff.
The exercise will focus in particular on ways to strike a potential enemy, taking into account “the experience of military conflicts in Ukraine and Iran,” Volfovich said.
The stated goal is to test whether Belarusian military units can conduct combat operations under modern battlefield conditions. Volfovich urged the public not to assume that “something extraordinary is happening.”
The announcement comes a day after Ratcliffe’s arrival in Moscow for an unannounced visit, with the Kremlin saying he did not meet Russian President Vladimir Putin and instead held “contacts between intelligence services.”
The Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the matter, reported that Ratcliffe’s trip may have been linked to US intelligence about Putin’s potential next moves.
According to the report, Russian forces recently conducted mobilization-preparation exercises in the Kaliningrad region and other areas, testing whether military infrastructure could receive, equip and feed new recruits.
US intelligence has also gathered information suggesting Putin may seek to test NATO’s resolve, the WSJ reported.
“The goal may have been to say: ‘We know what you are planning, and you’d better not do it,’” former US Deputy Director of National Intelligence Beth Sanner told the newspaper.
Belarus has also been strengthening its military posture near Ukraine.
Belarusian Special Operations Forces Commander Alexander Ilyukevich said earlier this month that Minsk had begun forming a new air-assault brigade near the Ukrainian border, reportedly in the Gomel region.
The WSJ previously reported that Putin had been pressing Lukashenko to open a new front against Ukraine. Moscow was also considering using Belarusian territory for operations against neighboring NATO states, including drone launches, according to the report.
French President Emmanuel Macron has warned Lukashenko against being drawn further into Russia’s war against Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has also pointed to Belarus’ construction of military infrastructure along the Ukrainian border, warning it could be used for aggression against Ukraine.