NATO bolstering its group of forces on border with Belarus - Belarusian defense minister

MINSK. March 10 (Interfax) - NATO is increasing its presence, including its aviation group, along the border with Belarus, Belarusian Defense Minister Viktor Khrenin said.

"We see how the allegedly eastern flank of NATO is being reinforced. Our estimates indicate that more than 10,000 people have arrived in Western countries, and the number that was present there to tackle Atlantic Resolve tasks and to reinforce their forward presence was 12,000," the Belarusian state-run news agency BelTA quoted Khrenin as saying after a meeting with the Belarusian president said.

"We see that the aviation group is being reinforced on quite a large scale. More than 80 planes of various types have arrived from America, from the continental part. Poland alone is hosting 156 combat planes, including over 30 American planes, which perform flights on a daily basis. And such flights take place in the vicinity of our state border," the minister said.

"We are observing an increase in air reconnaissance. We see the destroyers equipped with guided missile weapons, which carry missiles with a range of up to 1,600 kilometers that have arrived in the Baltic Sea. It means that almost the entire territory of Belarus is within their range," he said.

"That's why we cannot help but be concerned about it. Therefore, in accordance with the objective set by the head of state, we have been put on high alert. Our rapid response forces are on high alert and stand ready to execute the missions assigned to them," Khrenin said.