The United States accused Russia Monday of planning to build its military force in ally Belarus to 30,000 within weeks, amid a troop buildup by Moscow on Ukraine’s borders.
After placing some 5,000 troops in Belarus, “we’ve seen evidence that Russia intends to expand that presence to more than 30,000 troops near the Belarus border” with Ukraine by early February, US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield told the UN Security Council, noting the forces would be “less than two hours north of Kyiv.”
