The dictatorial president of Belarus, a strong Russian ally, said Russian troops will be allowed on Belarussian soil to form a joint force with his nation’s military, the New York Times reports.
After returning from a two-day summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Belarussian President Aleksandr G. Lukashenko told his nation’s military leaders, “This won’t be just a thousand troops.” He explained, in a reportedly rambling statement, that they will form a “joint regional group of troops” to counter “possible aggression against our country” by NATO and Ukraine.
Russian troops amassed in Belarus prior to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Thousands of Russian soldiers and scores of tanks rolled over the border from Belarus into Ukraine in the early days of the invasion as Russia went on to fail to capture Kyiv.