NATO chief wary of Russian troop buildup in Belarus

By LORNE COOK and SUZAN FRASER
Associated Press

BRUSSELS (AP) — NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg is concerned about Russia’s continued military buildup around Ukraine. He says that Moscow has now deployed more troops and military equipment to neighboring Belarus that at any time in the last 30 years. Russia now has more than 100,000 troops stationed near Ukraine’s northern and eastern borders. It raises concern that Moscow might invade again as it did in 2014. Russian officials deny that an invasion is planned. Stoltenberg said Thursday that “over the last days we have seen a significant movement of Russian military forces into Belarus. This is the biggest Russian deployment there since the Cold War.” He said that Russian troop numbers in Belarus are likely to climb to 30,000.