belarus

Lukashenko also said he believed Russia had already achieved its goals in what Moscow calls its "special military operation" in Ukraine, and said the two sides should sit at the negotiating table.

Belarus, the Kremlin's closest ally, initially supported the Russian invasion, opening its borders to Russian troops marching on Ukraine's capital Kyiv.

"We move the army closer to the border with Belarus to scare away the aggressor so that it does not dare to attack us," Blaszczak said.

The monument stands in the courtyard of the house where Shimon Peres was born in his hometown of Vishnyeva, Belarus.

"I have to teach my military, because an army that does not fight is half an army," Lukashenko stated.

This month, Poland began moving more than 1,000 troops to the east of the country amid rising concerns that the presence of Wagner fighters in Belarus could lead to increased tension on its border.

Lukashenko has not committed his small army to join Russia's war, but the risk of a new attack from Belarusian soil compels Ukraine to protect its northern border.

Russia has in recent weeks begun stationing tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus for the first time.

"Information obtained shows that during a training flight by US soldiers, contact with the drone was lost and it then fell into a forest area," the defense ministry wrote.

"Training or joint exercises of the Belarusian army and the Wagner Group is undoubtedly a provocation," Zbigniew Hoffmann told PAP.