MINSK. Feb 22 (Interfax) - Over 60,000 combat-ready U.S. troops are currently stationed in Europe, Belarusian Defense Minister Viktor Khrenin said.
"We are seeing a series of preemptive measures taken by Western Europe led by the U.S. to prepare for action. We realize who that action will target. Over 60,000 U.S. troops are currently stationed in Europe," Khrenin said in an interview with the Rossiya 24 channel (VGTRK).
"As part of the so-called operations Enhanced Forward Presence, Atlantic Resolve or, as they also say, protection of the eastern flank [...] we see over 32,000 NATO troops stationed in Poland and the Baltic countries as battalion tactical groups. According to our estimates, this is about 18 battalion tactical groups [...] mostly stationed in Poland and the Baltic countries," he said.
NATO naval groups armed with Tomahawk missiles, which can reach all of Belarusian territory, have been deployed in the Baltic Sea and the Mediterranean, he said.
"We see naval groups stationed in the Mediterranean and the Baltic Sea and armed with Tomahawk missiles with a range covering the entire territory of Belarus," Khrenin said.
There are missile defense systems in Redzikowo, Poland, and Devesele, Romania, Khrenin said. "With slight technical modifications, these systems can fire Tomahawk missiles with a range exceeding 1,600 kilometers towards us," he said.