Belarus: Russia to Send More Planes in Response to NATO Drills

Belarus President Says Poland Exercises a 'Clear Escalation'

The Belarussian Air Force is reporting Russia has promised to deploy several warplanes to its country in response to NATO’s war games in neighboring Poland, where the US has sent at least 12 F-16 fighters.

Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko had confirmed requesting the planes in response to the war games, which he dubbed a “clear escalation” along their border.

The US had couched the deployments to Poland as retaliation for the ongoing secessionist movement in Crimea, and support for the new interim government in neighboring Ukraine.

Russian officials haven’t confirmed how many planes would be sent, but the Belarussian officials said they had requested 12-15 planes in an effort to maintain parity with the NATO build-up in the area.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.