Troops deployed along entire Belarus-Ukraine border: Lukashenko

Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko has said that his country has stationed troops along its entire border to Ukraine in response to what he claimed was Kyiv's deployment of 120,000 troops on its side, reports DW.

"Seeing their aggressive policy, we have introduced there and placed in certain points — in case of war, they would be defense — our military along the entire border," state news agency Belta cited Lukashenko as saying in an interview with Russian state television.

He produced no evidence to back his claim of the Ukrainian deployment, which he said earlier this week might be a sign that Kyiv plans to attack his country — another unproven claim.

Lukashenko, who is closely allied with Russian President Vladimir Putin, said on Sunday that the Belarusian-Ukrainian border was mined "as never before" and that Ukrainian troops would incur huge losses if they tried to cross it.

Belarusian Defense Minister Viktor Khrenin on Friday said there was a high probability of an armed provocation from neighboring Ukraine. He said the situation at the shared border "remains tense."

Belarus allowed Russian troops to enter Ukraine via its territory in the early stages of Moscow's invasion in February 2022, which would have provided the Russian military with the shortest possible land route to the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, though the attempt to take the city was foiled.

Since then, Belarus has aided Moscow in other ways as well, such as allowing Russian missile launchers to be stationed on its territory.

But so far, Belarusian troops appear not to have directly taken part in combat within Ukraine._Agencies.