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Belarus has begun mobilizing thousands of reservists in its western regions through sudden, short-notice military summons.

Getting into it: First reported by locals on social media and since picked up by some Belarusian news outlets, the mobilization involves men in western regions receiving draft notices with little to no advance warning (in some cases ordering them to report the same or next morning). Posts circulating online claim that even fathers of three or more children are being summoned, despite Belarusian law requiring at least seven days’ notice for drills and exempting men with three or more underage children from such call ups. Some users allege that medical complaints are dismissed and that reservists have been left waiting for hours at assembly points without clear instructions. Military officials have confirmed that notices are being issued urgently, though they deny wrongdoing and maintain the process is lawful.

The mobilization is part of a combat readiness inspection that was initially announced in January by President Alexander Lukashenko, but no specific dates were provided at the time. The Belarusian Ministry of Defense says the effort is a “routine” intensified readiness check designed to test how quickly reserves can be assembled, how logistics function under stress, and how effectively units coordinate during sudden alerts.

Officials insist the exercises are defensive in nature and intended to prepare the armed forces to “repel aggression,” not to increase troop numbers or signal offensive intent. However, the scale and speed of the summons have fueled speculation that something else could be going on.

This all comes days after the European Union ramped up calls for the withdrawal of Russian troops from Belarus. Just before the war in Ukraine kicked off, Russia prepositioned thousands of troops, armored vehicles, artillery systems, and air defense assets inside Belarus under the guise of joint military exercises, later using Belarusian territory as a staging ground for its northern assault on Ukraine in February 2022. While the scale of Russia’s footprint has fluctuated since then, Russia has maintained a rotational presence in the country.