From December 20 to 22, 2022, troop trains with equipment moved around Belarus, creating an illusion of military activity. This ploy was probably meant to mislead a potential adversary by making the forces look numerous and active.
Movement details:
🕐 Polonka station (Baranovichi Division of the Belarusian Railway):
A troop train dispatched on December 20, 2022, from Polonka station to Luninets station has returned to its station of origin (Polonka).
On December 21, 2022, at 16:10, a troop train with military equipment on flatcars and passenger cars carrying Russian Armed Forces personnel was dispatched from Luninets station (Baranovichi Division of the Belarusian Railway) to Polonka station (Baranovichi Division of the Belarusian Railway).
❗️The troop train stood idle at Luninets station, with no operations performed on it, for 23 hours 45 minutes.
📍 The troop train arrived at Polonka station on December 22, 2022, at 07:26.
📍 Unloading of the equipment was completed at 12:15.
Route of the troop train to Polonka station: Luninets → Pinsk → Yanov-Polessky → Drogichin → Kobrin → Zhabinka → Oranchitsy → Bereza-Kartuzskaya → Bronnaya Gora → Ivatsevichi → Lesnaya → Baranovichi-Central → Polonka.
As a reminder, the troop train had 51 railcars in total:
- 42 flatcars (with military equipment: • 23 T-80 tanks, • 19 wheeled cargo vehicles);
- 7 boxcars (with escort personnel, gear and explosive materials);
- 2 passenger cars (with personnel: ≈100 people).
🕑 Zaslonovo station (Minsk Division of the Belarusian Railway):
A troop train dispatched on December 20, 2022, from Zaslonovo station to Polonka station will return to its station of origin (Zaslonovo).
On December 21, 2022, at 20:56, a troop train with military equipment on flatcars and passenger cars carrying Russian Armed Forces personnel was dispatched from Polonka station (Baranovichi Division of the Belarusian Railway) to Zaslonovo station (Minsk Division of the Belarusian Railway).
❗️The troop train stood idle at Polonka station, with no operations performed on it, for 15 hours 20 minutes.
📍 The troop train arrived at Zaslonovo station “as planned” on December 22, 2022, at 21:50.
📍 Unloading of the equipment was completed on December 23, 2022, at 14:00.
Route of the troop train to Zaslonovo station: Polonka → Baranovichi-Central → Baranovichi-Polesskie → Kletsk → Slutsk → Falichi → Osipovichi-I → Yelizovo → Mogilev-II → Chervichno → Orsha-Central → Zaslonovo.
As a reminder, the troop train has 51 railcars in total:
- 46 flatcars (with military equipment: • 31 T-72B3 and T-80 tanks; • 13 wheeled cargo vehicles; 1 BTR-80 and 1 tracked engineering vehicle);
- 3 boxcars (with escort personnel, gear and explosive materials);
- 2 passenger cars (with personnel: ≈100 people).
The “back-and-forth” movement of troop trains across Belarus had a strategic purpose. Such tactics are widely used in warfare to make troops look active and numerous. This misleads the adversary, diverts its resources to reassessing the situation and keeps up constant tension.
This tactic is taught at military schools, including the General Staff Faculty of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Belarus. It creates a false impression of real military activity and troop numbers, an important element of military strategy and operational planning.
