Yelnya is about halfway between Moscow and Minsk. The distance from Yelnya to the border of Belarus is some 60 miles or 100 kilometer. The distance to the Ukrainian border is about 150 miles or 250 kilometers. Yelnya is a regular Russian army training ground and the troops said to be there there are all units from Russia's western military district. To see those troops there, even in larger formations, is normal.
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