MINSK, May 15. /TASS/. The command of the Belarusian Air Defense Force has commissioned additional units and means to reinforce the protection of the country’s airspace, the commander of the Air Force and Air Defense Force, Andrey Lukyanovich, has said.

"At the moment additional forces and means are being commissioned. We have 750 to 1,000 men in our branch of the armed forces on duty every day. After the incidents in Russia our forces have been put on the highest alert. This concerns the anti-aircraft missile forces, radio-technical units and aviation," BelTA news agency quotes Lukyanovich as saying.

On Monday, during a visit to the Central Command Post of the Air Force and Air Defense Force, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said that the country's Air Defense Force had been on high combat alert for three days after aircraft crashed near the border with Ukraine in the Bryansk region.

"Today, the head of state heard reports on the forces and means on combat duty and on the results. We conduct monthly checks of the air defense forces on duty. The most recent check was on May 11. The results show that our type of forces coped with its task. The results were confirmed by objective control methods," Lukyanovich said, adding that the protection of all airfields and a number of facilities of radio and antiaircraft missile forces had been enhanced.

He emphasized that the Belarusian government was paying much attention to equipping the Air Force and Air Defense Force, which regularly receive new equipment within the framework of the plan extending until 2025.

"We are also expecting the delivery of new anti-aircraft missile systems this year and new Sukhoi-30SM aircraft," he recalled.