Ukraine launches 'special operation' on Belarus border, holds Javelin drills

Ukraine, which has accused Russia of massing troops nearby and says Belarus could send migrants over its borders, launched an operation on Wednesday to strengthen its frontier, including military drills for anti-tank and airborne units.

Ukraine, which has accused Russia of massing troops nearby and says Belarus could send migrants over its borders, launched an operation on Wednesday to strengthen its frontier, including military drills for anti-tank and airborne units. The Ukrainian state border service said the "special operation" at the border with Belarus involved troops of the National Guard, police, Armed Forces, and other reserves.

"Aviation, drones will also be actively used for patrolling and monitoring," the service said in a statement. Ukraine has deployed 8,500 extra troops to its border with Belarus, saying it fears being drawn into the migrant crisis, which has seen the European Union accuse Minsk of flying in people from the Middle East and pushing them to enter neighboring Poland. Belarus denies fomenting the crisis.

Kyiv also worries that a border with Belarus, a close Russian ally, could be used by Russia to stage a military assault. The head of Ukraine's military intelligence told the Military Times outlet this weekend that Russia had more than 92,000 troops massed around Ukraine's borders and was preparing for an attack by the end of January or the beginning of February.

Moscow has dismissed such suggestions as inflammatory and complained about what it says is increasing activity in the region by the NATO alliance. Ukrainian defense minister Oleksii Reznikov visited Washington this week and his ministry said Ukrainian, British and U.S. intelligence had exchanged information, and "the same conclusions were obtained".

Reznikov said that during his visit he met British and the U.S. defense ministers who had already started consultations with other European Union and NATO member states. "The reaction will be very harsh - and, as far as I know, the head of the Kremlin was warned about this directly during the visit of a high U.S. official to Russia," the ministry quoted Reznikov as saying.

Ukraine said on Tuesday it has had to defend its right to independence and held a series of military drills across the country. Ukraine, which seeks to join NATO, received a large consignment of U.S. ammunition and Javelin missiles earlier this year, prompting criticism from Moscow. On Tuesday, the Ukrainian navy received two refitted former U.S. Coast Guard patrol boats as a part of a $2.5 billion packages of assistance to Ukraine. 

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)