This was stated by Russian Ambassador to Minsk Boris Gryzlov in an interview with TASS.

According to the Russian agency TASS, Russian Ambassador to Belarus Boris Gryzlov said that after the exercise, preparations will begin for a new one called "Union Shield - 2023", which will take place in Russia.

Political scientist Mykhailo Honchar told Suspilne Crimea that such actions could be both provocative and a cover for invasion from the north.

"It's not just a provocation. Russia sees a weak verbal reaction from the West, where they talk about theory and do not get to practice. Now Russia is trying to feel the reaction of the EU and NATO, creating a provocative situation. If we look at Crimea, we can see NATO's belated reaction to Russia's actions. There is now complete militarization on the peninsula. Russian propaganda is silent, because, according to them, it all takes place in their territories", - he said.

According to the Secretary of State of the Security Council of Belarus Alexander Wolfovich, as part of the first stage of the inspection of the Union State response forces, some Russian forces and equipment are already arriving in Belarus. He added that the joint exercises will focus on the organization of military administration.

"In accordance with the approved plan to inspect the Union State's response forces on the territory of the Republic of Belarus, units from the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation began to arrive", - was informed in the statement.

It is noted that due to the fact that the inspection is sudden, the arrival of troops will be carried out throughout the first stage.

"At this stage, the participants of the inspection must unload and move to the task area", - was informed in the statement.

According to Russian media, these military exercises will last from February 10 to 20.

State Duma spokesman Vyacheslav Volodin said that NATO seeks to occupy Ukraine and is conducting informational preparations for the advance of forces on Ukrainian territory.

"Their advisers are already there, the instructors are there, and now they are thinking about how to justify the introduction of troops. In other words, NATO seeks to occupy Ukraine", - Volodin said.

According to him, in recent months, US congressmen and State Department officials have scared the world of a possible future Russian invasion.

"Obviously, Washington is trying to justify its expansion and the advance of NATO troops to Russia's borders", - a State Duma spokesman said. He also added that in this regard, it is important to have a dialogue on security guarantees.

National security expert Mikhail Gonchar considers this a typical trick from the days of Soviet Russian propaganda.

"It is worth recalling that the introduction of Soviet troops into Afghanistan in 1979 was preceded by widespread rumors that the United States was ready to send troops to Afghanistan to turn it into a springboard and pose a threat to the Soviet Union and South Asia. As it turned out, the United States had no such plans.

Let us recall the period before the occupation of Crimea. For a long time, Russian propagandists have argued that NATO has plans to build its own military base in Sevastopol. After the occupation of Crimea, Putin declared that without his help, without the annexation of Crimea to Russia, a NATO base would have appeared in Sevastopol. They are trying to repeat a similar scenario today, spreading false information", - the expert assured.

He added that first of all, there is a message to the Russian audience.

"Russia is trying to build such an image that they are in danger of aggression by NATO, which are already allegedly on the territory of Ukraine. There is a continuous injection of psychosis"б - political scientist Mykhailo Honchar said.