MINSK, February 16. /TASS/. The over 10,000-strong contingent of Russian troops in Belarus will help the Belarusian army in the case of aggression against the republic, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said on Thursday.

"In case of aggression [against Belarus], this grouping will organically join the Belarusian army," Lukashenko said at a meeting with foreign journalists. "If aggression is launched against Belarus, President [of Russia Vladimir] Putin and I have agreed that this division will be placed under my command to fight in a joint alignment of forces of Belarus and Russia," the Belarusian leader added.

He reiterated that at the moment "a large group of air forces and air defense troops has been redeployed to Belarus. "I have them deployed to the airfields. This was a sticking point for me: no matter how difficult it is in Ukraine, what belongs in the joint grouping must be in Belarus. At least periodically," the Belarusian president explained.

On October 10, 2022, Lukashenko announced the start of shaping a regional alignment of forces, the core of which will consist of Belarusian servicemen, within the framework of agreements with Moscow. Minsk announced in mid-October that the first trains carrying Russian servicemen had arrived in the republic. Russian President Vladimir Putin said after the talks with Lukashenko in the capital city of Belarus on December 19 that Moscow and Minsk would continue the practice of joint exercises and other military training activities, including those within the framework of the regional alignment of forces. In early January, the Defense Ministry of Belarus reported that the buildup of the group continued, and that it was ready to carry out the tasks to protect the Union State.