General Sir Patrick Saunders, in a message to his troops, said that Russia’s attack on Ukraine “underlines our main goal of protecting the United Kingdom by being ready to rectify and win wars on land,” according to Sky News. Sir Sanders, who had just taken over the top of the army, described himself as the first chief of staff since 1941 to take command of the army “in the shadow of a land war in Europe involving a continental power.” “There is now an ardent need to create an army capable of fighting alongside our allies and defeating Russia in battle,” he wrote. “We are the generation that must prepare the Army to fight again in Europe.” Sir Sanders’ statement came as a Russian foreign policy expert said military training exercises near the Belarus-Ukraine border could indicate that the Russian ally could take part in the war. According to a foreign policy expert, Russian President Vladimir Putin may force Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko to take a “more aggressive stance” on the war. Photo by RAMIL SITDIKOV / SPUTNIK / AFP via Getty Images “The concern is that [Russian President Vladimir] Putin was trying to put pressure [Belarus President Alexander] “Lukashenko and force him to take a more aggressive stance to launch more offensive actions outside Belarus with the participation of Belarusian troops,” said Mark Voyger, a senior fellow at the Transatlantic Defense and Security Program at the Center for European Analysis. .co. United Kingdom.
The military exercises that Belarus will conduct in June and July in the Gomel region are likely to be just a cover for an impending invasion, he said. “These exercises will be a matter of grave concern because, unfortunately, Russia and its allies are consistently using military exercises as a mask to cover up their aggression,” Voiger told Express.co.uk. UK Army Chief of Staff General Sir Patrick Saunders has warned soldiers they may need to prepare for war in Europe. Photo by Scott Olson / Getty Images Twice in the past, Russia has said it will conduct military exercises that later led to real attacks, including in 2014, when the country invaded the Crimean peninsula, and last year, when more than 150,000 troops were stationed on the Ukrainian border for “exercises”. eventually led to the invasion of February 24th. Voyager was an adviser to the US military in Iraq and Afghanistan and worked in the former presidential campaign of US Senator Mitt Romney (R-Utah). Mr Lukashenko, Putin’s closest ally, warned last month of World War III if Western nations continued to supply arms to Ukraine. Sir Saunders’s message to British troops comes as some speculate that Belarus may join Russia in invading Ukraine. Anadolu Agency through Getty Images While Belarus has not been involved in the war, Russian forces have used the country’s territory as a launching pad for some of its attacks on Ukraine. “But in this case, Russia is suffering from a shortage of troops, so any additional troops would greatly add to their capabilities, especially if they could strike again from the north, possibly using Belarusian troops,” Voyger said.