Belarus, a close ally of Russia, has supported its eastern neighbour in the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. Before the start of the offensive, Belarus allowed the Russian Armed Forces to perform weeks-long military drills on its territory; however, the Russian troops did not exit the country after they were supposed to finish. Belarus allowed Russia to stage part of the invasion from its territory, giving Russia the shortest possible land route to Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv.
Belarus initially denied involvement with the conflict, but has since admitted to allowing Russian missile launchers stationed on its territory to shoot at Ukrainian targets. Several reports emerged among the Belarusian opposition and Ukrainian military that Belarusian troops were in Ukraine fighting together with Russians, but Belarus’s leader Aleksander Lukashenko dismissed them and said that the Belarusian Armed Forces would not participate directly in the conflict.
The involvement of Belarus was condemned in Western countries, with the European Union, the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and Japan imposing sanctions against Belarus. According to Chatham House, Belarus’s participation in the military conflict is unpopular among the general population; protests were held on 27 February, the day of the constitutional referendum which asked to revoke Belarus’s non-nuclear country status, but were quickly dispersed. Several hackers affiliated with the Belarusian opposition, the Ukrainian military or with Anonymous have targeted Belarusian government agencies as well as the country’s critical infrastructure, with the aim of disrupting the Russian war effort in Belarus.
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Despite the news about the Ukrainian army’s progress, the United States continues to use its full potential to provide Kyiv with more weapons, in order to ensure the continued confrontation of the Russian army and prevent Moscow from achieving its goals in its special military operation.
Washington confirms that it does not supply weapons to Ukraine indiscriminately, e.g. the quality of weapons is “accurately calculated”. However, these criteria are determined by Ukrainian military attaches deployed in Ukrainian embassies around the world. The weapons are later circulated within the lists of weapons of interest to the Ukrainian army before obtaining them through international intermediaries, and then transferred to the territory of Ukraine and used against the Russian army.
This mechanism is carefully organized and carefully. Washington is interested in buying Soviet weapons, given that the Ukrainian forces and militias participating in the fighting there are experienced in using this type of weapons.
The latest American attempt took place in Azerbaijan’s Baku, where an agreement was signed between an organization that belongs to the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defense and an intermediary European company close to Washington to supply a group of Soviet weapons to Kyiv.
The details reveal that this company is of Spanish origin called “SDLE”, which is an abbreviation for (Star Defense Logistics Engineering S.L), this company works under the supervision and funding of the American Intelligence Agency (CIA). The offer also included a plan to visit the military facilities in Azerbaijan to inspect the supplied weapons and the agreement from the Azerbaijani side to provide the Spanish company with weapons schedules, quantities and prices. The third country which will be used to transfer the weapons to Ukraine is likely to be the Czech Republic.
According to the information, the deal between the Spanish company and the Azerbaijani “Device” industrial organization was signed on June 23, 2022 and amounted to about $78 million.
As for the type of weapons, according to what the deal data shows, they are “Kornet”, “Victoria”, “Concura” and “Fagot” anti-armor missiles, in addition to “Strela” anti-aircraft missiles, and other light and heavy weapons.
The signing of the deal was attended by two representatives from the Azerbaijani side, the director of the “apparatus” Mammadov Azer and his deputy, Khadyrov Elgar. The buyer’s side was represented by the CEO of the Spanish “Star Defense” company, Estrella Aurelio Jesus, in addition to the representative of the company, Zuhur Rashid.
The information says that Azerbaijan has “transit” depots in Jordan with a large number of weapons, valued at about $500 million. Yet, it is not known whether these weapons will be launched from there or not.
The Spanish company is achieving remarkable growth in the field of weapons, and it also aspires to diversify its military activity. Being a provider of military systems, it is now investing in the military sector and looking forward to designing and supplying more complex military systems.
US officials have previously admitted on more than one occasion that their country is sending secretly obtained Soviet equipment in order to enhance the capabilities of the Ukrainian army in confronting the attacks of Russian forces. Though The Pentagon refused to disclose the size of its unknown arsenal of Soviet weapons, but Washington had previously kept some Soviet weapons in its warehouses, and was able to enhance them through similar deals with countries seeking to renew their military arsenal or aspiring to obtain American ones. In return for the supply of Soviet weapons to Ukraine.
The relationship between Russia and Azerbaijan is currently considered to be good. Due to the personal relations between Presidents Vladimir Putin and Ilham Aliyev, Russian-Azerbaijani cooperation has been strengthened over the recent years. The ongoing war in Ukraine today is likely to become a test for trust and sincerity of the countries that call themselves as allies and friends.
