Belarus announces 'joint regional group of forces' with Russia as country's military gears up to join the war

Belarus and Russia have agreed to deploy a "joint regional group of forces" manned by the Belarusian military, Belarusian president Aleksandr Lukashenko has announced.

Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with his Belarus' counterpart Alexander Lukashenko at a meeting in Sochi in September.

The dictator told a meeting of security officials in Minsk that Ukraine was being "pushed by their patrons to unleash a war against Belarus".

Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, the pro-democracy opposition leader of Belarus, who runs a cabinet out of exile in Lithuania, urged Belarusian military to refuse to take part in the group’s operations. Ms Tsikhanouskaya stood against Mr Lukashenko in the 2020 elections and was forced to flee the country soon afterwards, sparking widespread protests.

Mr Lukashenko, who recently gifted Russian president Vladimir Putin a tractor for his 70th birthday, warned Ukraine against strikes on Belarus, saying that he had been told “through unofficial channels” that Kyiv was planning an attack.

“I have already said that today Ukraine is not just contemplating, but planning strikes on the territory of Belarus.” he said. “My answer was simple: Tell the president of Ukraine and other insane people, if they are still there, that the Crimean Bridge will be just the thin end of the wedge to them, if only they touch a single metre of our territory with their dirty hands.”

He added: "They are being pushed by their patrons to unleash a war against Belarus in order to draw us in it and deal with Russia and Belarus at [the same] time.”

Mr Lukashenko said he had a one-on-one meeting with his ally Mr Putin after the informal CIS summit in St Petersburg and subsequently “gave an order” to form the group.

He said: "Given the worsening of the situation on the western borders of the Union State, we agreed to deploy a regional group of forces of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus. This complies with our documents. It says that if the threat level reaches the level as it is now, we begin to use the Union State group of forces.

"The basis (I have always said this) of this group is the army, the Armed Forces of the Republic of Belarus. I must inform you that the formation of this group has begun. It's been going on for, I think, two days.”

He said that around 1,000 Russian troops would join the group, but that it would be mainly staffed by Belarusian military.

"Last thing they need is another conflict.” he told his defence minister, Viktor Khrenin. “You know they have enough problems. Therefore, we should not expect a large number of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. But it will be more than one thousand people."

Opposition leader Ms Tsikhanouskaya, who visited Scotland last month to garner political support for a democratic Belarus, said: “Ukraine doesn't pose a threat to Belarus. It's a lie by Lukashenka to justify his complicity in the terror against Ukraine. He also violates our national security.”

She added: “I urge the Belarusian military: don't follow criminal orders, refuse to participate in Putin's war against our neighbours.”