Protect Border, Belarus Will Accommodate Fewer Than 9,000 Russian Army

Illustration of Belarusian soldiers. (Wikimedia Commons/Homoatrox)

JAKARTA - Belarusian Defense Ministry in Minsk said on Sunday that Russian troops who would be stationed in the country's territory were part of a regional grouping of less than 9,000 personnel to protect its borders.

"The first troop train with Russian soldiers who are part of the (regional grouping) is starting to arrive in Belarus," wrote Valeriy Revenko, head of the defense ministry's international military cooperation department, on Twitter.

"Relocation will take several days. The total number will be slightly less than 9,000 people," he said.

"Further information will be provided at a briefing for military attaches," he added.

Earlier, Belarus said on Friday Russian troops would soon arrive to take part in the "regional grouping" of troops to protect its borders.

"The troops from the Russian component from the Regional Forces Grouping will begin arriving in Belarus in the next few days," the ministry said.

Earlier last week, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said his troops would be deployed with Russian troops near the Ukrainian border to anticipate threats from Ukraine and the West.

He said on Monday he had ordered troops to deploy with Russian troops near Ukraine in response to what he said was a real threat to Belarus from Kyiv and his supporters in the West.

The statement from Lukashenko, who has held power in Belarus since 1994, shows the potential for further escalation of the war in Ukraine, perhaps with a combined joint Russian-Bellarus force in northern Ukraine.

"The attack on Belarus is not only being discussed in Ukraine today, but is also being planned," Lukashenko said at a security meeting, without providing evidence of the statement.

"The owners encouraged them to start the war against Belarus to drag us there. We have been preparing for this for decades. If necessary, we will respond," Lukashenko said, adding he had spoken to Russian President Vladimir Putin about the situation, during a meeting in St Petersburg.

Lukashenko said he had agreed with Putin to deploy regional military groups.

It is known that Belarus has around 60,000 troops. Earlier this year, Belarus deployed 6 battalion-tactic groups, with a total of several thousand people, to border areas.

Meanwhile, Russian troops used Belarus as a staging post for their February 24 invasion of Ukraine, sending troops and equipment to northern Ukraine from bases in Belarus.