Russia has sent a number of advanced Su-35 warplanes to neighboring Belarus
to participate in scheduled military exercises amid rising tensions with
NATO. The statement was made by the Russian Ministry of Defense on Wednesday
(27/1/2022).
The Russian military chief announced the transfer in a recent statement,
“The crew of the Su-35S multipurpose fighter aircraft from the eastern
military region… continue to rebase to Belarusian airfields.”
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"During their flight, the crew stopped intermittently at the airfields of
the central and western military areas, to rest and prepare for the next
takeoff," the statement said.
Once they arrive in Belarus, the aircraft will take part in an exercise
designed to test the readiness of the joint anti-air defense system of
Russia and Belarus, which are close military partners.
The large-scale exercise will also involve ground troops and is scheduled to
last until February 20. The Sukhoi Su-35 is a twin-engine single-seat air
defense fighter aircraft first developed in the Soviet Union, then known as
the Su-27M.
The aircraft was renamed the Su-35 after the dissolution of the Soviet
Union, and in 2008, a modernized version with a redesigned cockpit and
weapons control system made its first flight. The aircraft have been
exported to several other countries, including China and Egypt.
On Friday, Russia's Defense Ministry announced it was transferring two
divisions of the S-400 Triumph air defense system, which is designed to take
down enemy warplanes, to Belarus for exercises.
Last week, the US State Department warned that the upcoming drills could be
a sign that Russia was planning an invasion of Ukraine, with one official
saying, “We are very wary of everything Russia is doing. The fact that we
are seeing troop movements into Belarus clearly gives Russia another
approach if they decide to take further military action against Ukraine."
The Kremlin has denied that it had any intention of attacking its neighbour.
Oleg Voinov, a senior Belarusian defense official said that one of the goals
of the exercise was to practice "strengthening the country's borders."
