A delegation headed by the commander of Russia's ground forces, Oleg Salyukov, visited Belarus on Thursday to inspect the combat readiness of a joint force stationed there, the Belarusian defence ministry said.
The visit took place a day after Salyukov was named as one of the deputy commanders of Russia's military operation in Ukraine in the latest of a series of reshuffles.
Russia and its close ally Belarus have beefed up their joint military grouping in Belarus and plan to hold joint aviation drills there from next Monday.
