First Russian soldiers arrive in Belarus for joint force: Minsk

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashensko announced last week the deployment of the joint military task force in response to what he called an aggravation of tensions on the country’s western border [File: Belarusian defence ministry via AFP]

The first convoy of Russian forces has arrived in Belarus, the country’s defence ministry said on Saturday, as part of a regional force “exclusively to strengthen the protection and defence of the border” with Ukraine.

It comes days after Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, a close ally of his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, said that Minsk and Moscow will deploy a joint military task force in response to what he called an aggravation of tension on the country’s western borders.