Belarus stopped building a military town near the Ukrainian border

The construction was stopped due to a lack of funding

The construction of a military town near the Ukrainian border has been stopped due to a lack of funding, the Belarusian Defense Ministry said on Monday. The town, which was to accommodate 5,000 troops, was being built in the Brest region, which borders Ukraine to the west. The ministry said that the construction had been halted indefinitely. According to a group of independent Belarusian military analysts, the project was stopped due to international pressure and the threat of sanctions on Belarus by the Western countries.

The construction was part of a larger plan to modernize the Belarusian military

The construction of the military town was part of a larger plan to modernize the Belarusian military. The plan, which was announced in 2016, includes the purchase of new weapons, the construction of new military bases, and the training of new troops. The Belarusian government has said that the modernization program is necessary to protect the country from potential threats from the West. The country military budget increased by 15 percent in 2022, reaching 1.333 billion BYN (412 million USD).

The construction of the military town was halted amid a tense situation on the Ukrainian-Belarusian border, which has been escalated since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine. Earlier in April, the Belarusian Defense Ministry announced the deployment of several army units in the Gomel region, located near Ukraine. At the same time, the Ukrainian Defense Intelligence reported that Belarus was preparing to host Russian nuclear weapons on its territory.

The West has condemned Belarus for allowing Russia to use its territory to launch attacks on Ukraine. The EU and the US have imposed sanctions on Belarus in response to its support for Russia's war in Ukraine. The sanctions have targeted the Belarusian military and defense sector, as well as individuals and companies linked to the regime of President Alexander Lukashenko.