MOSCOW — Russia on Saturday sent a pair of long-range nuclear-capable bombers on patrol over its ally Belarus amid spiraling tensions over Ukraine.
The Russian Defense Ministry said the two Tu-22M3 bombers practiced interacting with the Belarusian air force and air defense during a four-hour mission. The flight followed several similar patrols over Belarus, which borders Ukraine to the north.
The mission came as the Kremlin has moved troops from Siberia and the Far East to Belarus for sweeping joint drills. The deployment added to the Russian military buildup near Ukraine, fueling Western fears of a possible invasion.
Russia has denied any plans of attacking Ukraine, but urged the U.S. and its allies to provide a binding pledge that they won’t accept Ukraine into NATO, won’t deploy offensive weapons, and will roll back NATO deployments to Eastern Europe. Washington and NATO have rejected the demands.
The West has called on Russia to pull back an estimated 100,000 troops from areas near Ukraine, but the Kremlin has responded by saying it will station troops wherever it needs to on Russian territory. As the tensions over Ukraine soared, the Russian military has launched a series of war games spreading from the Arctic to the Black Sea.
The Russian troop deployment to Belarus raised concerns in the West that Moscow could stage an attack on Ukraine from the north. The Ukrainian capital of Kyiv is just 75 kilometers (50 miles) from the Belarus border. In recent months, Russia has conducted a series of joint drills with Belarus and repeatedly sent its nuclear-capable long-range bombers to patrol over Belarus, which borders NATO members Poland, Lithuania and Latvia.
Belarus’ authoritarian leader Alexander Lukashenko, who has increasingly relied on the Kremlin’s political and financial support amid bruising Western sanctions triggered by his crackdown on domestic protests, has called for closer defense ties with Moscow and recently offered to host Russian nuclear weapons.
In an interview with a Russian state TV host aired Saturday, Lukashenko charged that the Russian-led security alliance demonstrated its quick deployment capability when its members briefly sent forces last month to Kazakhstan to help stabilize the situation after deadly riots.
“While they (NATO) will be still getting prepared to send some troops here, we will already stand at the English Channel, and they know it,” he said in a reference to Western allies. The Belarusian leader downplayed the threat of war, but added that if it still erupts “it will last for three or four days at most.”
“There is no one there to fight us,” he said about Ukraine.
On Saturday, the German newspaper Bild published a report alleging that Russia is poised to attack Ukraine from several directions, capture major cities and install a puppet government. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova angrily dismissed the allegations.
As war fears mounted, Ukrainian authorities launched a series of civil defense drills for residents.
“I am here to learn how to defend myself, defend my relatives and also understand how to act in the situation,” Kyiv resident Ilya Goncharov said after taking part in drills on the outskirts of the Ukrainian capital. “I am happy that I came here to learn the basics of self defense and first aid.”
In Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city just 25 kilometers (15 miles) south of the Russian border, thousands of people took to the streets Saturday carrying giant yellow-and-blue banners in the colors of the national flag in a show of determination to protect the city.