Lukashenko claims Belarus 'forced to move' almost a third of its army to Ukraine border

He said this in an interview with Rossiya TV channel, BelTA reports.

"We have brought our military there (to the border with Ukraine - ed.) and deployed them at certain points - as it would be in the event of war, defence - along the entire border. Moreover, special services, Alpha, Almaz and other special forces are working there - the most trained ones. They are doing their job," Lukashenko said.

He noted that the situation on the border allegedly escalated between late June and early July, when preparations were underway for the Independence Day parade in Minsk. At that time, a number of aircraft and ground troops that were to take part in the parade were allegedly moved to Belarus, in particular from Russia.

"It's clear that they (in Ukraine - ed.) saw the movement to us, and the Americans give them all the information. And they thought that, as they said, ‘Putin will attack again from the territory of Belarus’. From near Gomel, as it was at the beginning of the ‘special military operation’. And they began to transfer up to 120,000 soldiers. In response, I was forced to redeploy almost a third of the army to reinforce what was already there," said the self-proclaimed president of Belarus.

• On August 10, the head of the Belarusian defence ministry, Lieutenant General Viktor Khrenin, ordered an increase in the number of soldiers and weapons in the regions bordering Ukraine. The next day, Belarusian tanks moved to the border areas with Ukraine.