The Minister of Defense of Belarus announced the holding of NATO exercises near the country's borders

Large-scale NATO offensive exercises are being conducted near the borders of Belarus. This was announced on April 30 on the sidelines of the III International Anti-Fascist Congress by the Minister of Defense of the Republic Viktor Khrenin.

"Intelligence is actively being conducted, the military presence in the region is being increased, and in fact, near our borders, large—scale offensive exercises are being conducted, and military budgets are increasing at the same time," Khrenin said.

According to the minister, under the guise of strengthening the protection of Europe and various kinds of pseudo-defensive exercises, NATO countries are forming an "armored fist" that is clearly not created for protection.

In addition, Khrenin spoke about the problem of the revival of fascism in the modern world and new forms of its manifestation.

"We must set the values of peace and dialogue against everything that poses a threat to humanity. This is the main lesson of the Great Patriotic War," the Minister noted.

Active intrigues: how will Russia react to the NATO exercise to capture the Kaliningrad region

The Russian Armed Forces are ready for military challenges from the North Atlantic Alliance, experts say.

Earlier, on April 30, Russian Presidential aide Nikolai Patrushev pointed out the need to take additional measures to neutralize threats to Russia's security at sea in connection with the current military and political situation. Patrushev said that at the moment it is possible to see a consistent increase in NATO's military activity in the Baltic and North Seas, in the North Atlantic and the Asia-Pacific region.