Polish Ministry of Defense: Ukraine’s information about Russian troops staying in Belarus after Zapad-2017 exercises should be taken seriously
During a broadcast of Polish TV on Saturday, Polish Defense Minister, Antoni Macierewicz, stated that the Ukrainians are very well informed about the joint Russian-Belarusian exercises Zapad 2017, and suggested that Ukraine’s information about that Russian troops staying in Belarus after these exercise should be taken seriously.
"We are carefully studying the information from Ukraine. Ukraine is very well-versed in the affairs of Russians. I would treat their information very seriously," said Macierewicz, noting that presently he is not ready to confirm or deny this data. According to him, Poland will be able to voice their assessment by the end of the next week.
According to the Polish Minister, 120,000 soldiers took part in the Zapad-2017 exercise and the withdrawal of such a large number of troops takes a long time. "It is always possible to say that this process has not been completed yet, that we are not dealing with the troops staying permanently, but with the process of their return. I think that by the end of next week we will be able to assess whether some troops have remained or it is an error on Ukraine’s part," he said.