Belarus deploys equipment and troops to Lithuanian border

During the night of March 14, Belarus transported a convoy of military personnel and equipment consisting of 46 wagons to the Oshmiany district, bordering Lithuania, according to the monitoring group "Belaruski Hayun," Rubryka reports.

"The units of the 19th Mechanized Brigade (1st Separate Mechanized Battalion and 4th Separate Tank Battalion) were relocated to the Oshmiany district (bordering Lithuania)," the message said.

According to the belzhd_live website, the convoy with military equipment arrived at the Oshmiany station overnight.

Specifically, the amount of equipment that arrived corresponds to an incomplete mechanized battalion reinforced by a tank platoon.

There were 46 wagons, including four passenger wagons (with personnel of the Belarusian Armed Forces), three covered wagons (with equipment and ammunition), 39 flatcars with 12 flatcars with BMP-2 (24 units of equipment), nine flatcars with T-72B tanks (9 units), three flatcars with engineering military equipment, 15 flatcars with automotive equipment (a total of 30 units).

Earlier, on January 15, the Ministry of Defense of Belarus reported that Belarusian military personnel would undergo training in Russia.

The exercises will place emphasis on the experience gained by the Russian armed forces during the war in Ukraine. The official statement does not specify to which branches of the armed forces or units of the Armed Forces of Belarus the military personnel sent for training belong.

The Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko supported Russia's aggression against Ukraine and allowed the use of Belarusian military infrastructure and airspace for the invasion of the Russian army and shelling of peaceful Ukrainian cities.

As previously reported, the Lithuanian National Security Commission proposes to halt the movement of goods, transport, and people through the border checkpoints of Lavoriškės and Raigardas.

"It has also been decided to restrict the movement of people on bicycles and on foot at all checkpoints on the border with Belarus," said Vilmantas Vitkauskas, head of the National Crisis Management Center (NCMC), at a press conference in the government.

After adopting this proposal, two border checkpoints — "Medininkai" and "Šalčininkai" — will remain open on the border with Belarus. Last summer, Lithuania already closed two border checkpoints — "Shumskas" and "Tveriachus."