13,000 Belarus Ex-Military And Police To Join War In Ukraine; 'Key Motive' Is Money

Thousands of active and former Belarusian military and police members are expected to join the war in Ukraine to fight alongside the Russian army, a Ukrainian official said Thursday.

Oleksii Hromov, head of the Main Operational Department of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, said at least 13,000 Belarusian fighters will participate in the war in Ukraine. The new group of fighters will be made up of active and former servicemen of the Belarusian military and the OMON, a special police force under the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Belarus.

"Russia continues to draw Belarus into the full-scale war against Ukraine. According to preliminary data, up to 13,000 people from among the active and former servicemen of units of the Belarusian special operations forces, as well as the OMON, have signed [documents giving] their consent to participate in the war against Ukraine," Hromov said at a briefing at the Ukraine-Ukrinform media center.

Hromov noted that the Belarusian forces only chose to join the war because of "fear" and "money," adding that they likely do not believe Russia's claims that it is "de-Nazifying" Ukraine.

"Their main motivation is financial. There is no ideological component in the actions of the occupying forces. No one believes in denazification, protecting the rights of the Russian-speaking population and so on. Fear and money are the main factors behind the Russian military presence," he added.

Hromov ended the conference by issuing a warning about potential sabotage at the International Army Games 2022, which are scheduled to be held in Belarus from Aug. 13 to 21. The casualties, he said, would then be blamed on Ukraine, which could create a ground for Belarus to join Russian President Vladimir Putin's war, per a translation by Ukrainska Pravda.

Despite Hromov's warning, Belarusian commander Denys Prokhorov, commander of the Kastus Kalinouski Regiment fighting alongside Ukrainian forces, told Fox News that Minsk would likely face "troop sabotage and unwillingness" to go to war if it pushes its troops to fight with Russia.

Prokhorov, who is often called "kyt" which means "whale" in Ukrainian, is part of a roughly 500-strong Belarusian volunteer fighting unit that pledged allegiance to Ukraine in March following Russia's invasion.