Belarus’s self-proclaimed president, Alexander Lukashenko, said that he moved nearly a third of his army to the border with Ukraine, citing the presence of over 120,000 Ukrainian troops in the area.

In an interview with the Russian TV channel Russia, Lukashenko explained the decision, saying, “Seeing their (Ukraine’s) aggressive policy, we brought in and deployed our military at certain points—as it would be in case of war or defense—along the entire border.” He added that special services and elite units such as “Alpha” and “Almaz” also operate in the area.

The Belarusian leader believes that Ukrainian forces are concentrated at the border because “they think Putin will again attack from the territory of Belarus.”

In response to this perceived threat, Lukashenko claims he “was forced to transfer almost a third of the army additionally to reinforce what was there.”

Emphasizing the significance of this deployment, Lukashenko said, “It would be tantamount to death for us to remove our troops from the border with Ukraine.”

Lukashenko also mentioned that Russia would deploy troops to provide military support in case of aggression against Belarus.

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