Russia, Belarus deploy joint group of forces

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) - Belarus announced on Monday that it had reached an agreement with Russia to deploy a joint military group amid the ongoing war in Ukraine.

The deployment has already been underway for two days, Belarus's President Alexander Lukashenko said at a meeting with his country's security chiefs in the capital Minsk.

"Due to the escalation on the western borders of the Union State (of Russia and Belarus), we have agreed to deploy a regional grouping of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus," said Lukashenko.

He did not specify where the group would be deployed, but said the Belarusian armed forces would make up its foundation.

Lukashenko also said the decision was made due to the growing threats on the western borders of Russia and Belarus.

He said the agreement was reached with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of an informal meeting of the heads of the Commonwealth of Independent States, held in St. Petersburg on Friday.

The Union State of Russia and Belarus is an integration process, aiming to unite the political, economic, military, customs, currency, legal, humanitarian, market, and cultural spaces of the two countries.