Recently, the attention of the international community to the situation in Belarus, especially to the build-up of Russian forces in the region, has increased. The French optical space component, under the control of the French Military Intelligence Directorate, as well as American intelligence, are paying increased attention to the area around the Gozhsky test site, located in western Belarus, near the border with Lithuania and Poland.

Using intelligence tools including satellite imagery and aerial reconnaissance, Western analysts are tracking movements in the region, which last week included an intensified redeployment of Russian mechanized units, including by rail to Porechye station.

The West is particularly concerned about the concentration of military equipment around garrison towns in Belarus, such as Baranovichi and Gomel, as analysts do not want a repeat of the troop deployment scenario that they were unable to identify in February 2022.

However, Belarusian information resources refute the data on the Russian military presence in these areas, claiming that the observed movements are related to the actions of the 6th mechanized brigade of the Belarusian Armed Forces, which is participating in the combat readiness test. It is emphasized that there is no accumulation of Russian troops in the vicinity of Baranovichi and Gomel, and only small groups of air forces and air defense of the Russian Federation are located at the airfields.