German news agency: Belarus is preparing for war arming civil defense and preparing shelters

Belarus is intensifying its military activities against the backdrop of the faltering Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The country has formed civil defense units that can be called up with the army to “defend the motherland,” the country’s civil defense chief Vadim Sinyavsky told state television on Sunday.

“We received all the weapons that we were supposed to get from the Defense Ministry,” Sinyavsky said, noting that there are about 5,000 underground facilities that could be used as bomb shelters in Belarus.

Meanwhile, the Belarusian border guards announced that they had reinforced their units on the border “due to the increased reconnaissance activity in Ukraine”.

Earlier, Russia sent its first soldiers to Belarus as part of a new joint force aimed at protecting the border with Ukraine, according to the Russian Defense Ministry.

On Sunday, the Russian TASS news agency quoted a spokesman for the Defense Ministry in Minsk as saying that “the first Russian soldiers have arrived in Belarus, and the transfer process will take several days, as the total number will be just under 9,000”.

The Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko announced, last Monday, the formation of a joint local force with Russia, noting that this force will protect Belarusian borders in view of the growing tensions.

Russia had started from Belarus air raids on Ukrainian targets.

Military observers still consider Belarus’s intervention in the war unlikely, as they believe that such an unpopular move might destabilize Lukashenko’s position in power.

On the other hand, the deployment of Russian and Belarusian forces on the border with Ukraine will force Kyiv to move forces from the east and south of the country north to the border with Belarus.

Meanwhile, Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine said the Ukrainian army bombed the city of Donetsk on Sunday.

Donetsk Mayor Alexei Kulmzin was quoted by the Russian TASS news agency as saying that an administrative building had been severely damaged, windows had been smashed, and cars had caught fire.

“And miraculously, no one died,” Colmazine added… This information cannot be independently verified.

The industrial city of Donetsk has been under the control of pro-Russian separatists since 2014.

The Moscow-backed forces blamed the Ukrainian army for 40 attacks on targets in the Donetsk People’s Republic, which is recognized by Russia, within 24 hours.

They added that the attacks resulted in the death of a civilian and the injury of four others.

On the other hand, Russia said that it repelled the advance of Ukrainian forces in some areas and destroyed several ammunition depots for the Ukrainian army.

Three American M777 howitzers were among the targets in the Kharkiv region, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said Sunday, according to Russian news agencies.

Konashenkov said the attacks had caused heavy losses to Ukraine and were part of an ongoing offensive against military targets and energy supplies.

These reports from the combat zones could not be independently verified.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in an interview with the Interfax news agency that Russia is committed to achieving its goals in Ukraine despite Western support.

Peskov explained that NATO is already a de facto part of the conflict, but this won’t affect Russia’s goals.

Peskov added that the military operation would continue to the end, although Western support for Ukraine made it more difficult.

The German government and other NATO countries say they aren’t part in the war, on parallel, Ukraine’s support is seen as support for the right to self-defense of a country aspiring to join NATO.