MINSK. July 28 (Interfax) - The Belarusian Defense Ministry has denied the reports that 70% of the personnel of the Vitebsk-based 103rd mobile brigade have been moved to Minsk.
"They wrote that '70% of the personnel of the 103rd mobile brigade have been in Minsk since July 18. They will remain here after the election too. They have been issued with the relevant orders'. It is hard to imagine where one could hide over 1,500 brave paratroopers (and that is just from one brigade) and most importantly, what for?" the ministry stated on its official Telegram-channel.
There will be festivities in Minsk on August 1-2 on the occasion of the Airborne Troops Day, it recalled. "The blue berets from Vitebsk have also arrived in the capital, there's less than a battalion of them, just enough for the festive performance on August 1," the statement reads.
The country will be holding a presidential election on August 9. This month the incumbent president, Alexander Lukashenko, inspected rapid-response units: the 103rd Vitebsk separate guards air assault brigade on July 15, the 5th separate special-forces brigade in Maryina Gorka on July 24, and an Internal Troops special-forces brigade based in Uruchye, Minsk, on July 28.