The Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine’s Defence Ministry has claimed that there has been an outbreak of diseases among Russian military servicemen deployed in Belarus.
According to Ukrainian intelligence, the units affected are mainly made up of so-called “partially mobilised” citizens. These soldiers, who have crossed into Belarus, are mainly tasked with the preparation of the material base and deployment sites for Russian troops. However, according to reporting by Ukrinform, Ukrainian intelligence claims that they are “forced to live in unsuitable conditions – mostly in field tents without proper sanitary conditions”.
The intelligence report specifically highlights large-scale outbreaks of various diseases, the majority of which are related to the respiratory tract, such as bronchitis, sore throat, pneumonia, and asthma.
It also claims that the scale of the outbreaks has left Belarussian medics unable to cope, meaning that military and mobilised doctors are being urgently sent in from the Russian federation. It is expected that a group of 230 medics will arrive at Western Operational Command of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Belarus (Obuz-Lisnovsky) in the near future.
Furthermore, it is claimed that one of the main causes of disease outbreaks is the non-compliance with basic requirements for military camps to ensure hygiene, quality food, and medical care.
There has been an increase in tensions between the militaries of Russia and Belarus. On numerous occasions there have been allegations of a contemptuous attitude of the Russian military towards Belarussians, often stemming from the rank-and-file Russian soldiers who have behaved badly towards the Belarussian senior officers, even using ethnic-relate insults.
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