Russia and Belarus are set to start 10 days of joint military drills as concerns rise over the buildup of the Kremlin’s forces on Ukraine’s borders
Nato has stated that the joint military drills mark Russia’s biggest deployment to ex-Soviet Belarus since the Cold War.
US President Joe Biden’s administration has labeled the drills an “escalatory” action in the rising tensions between Russia and Ukraine.
Moscow has repeatedly denied any plans to invade its neighbour, despite amassing more than 100,000 troops at the border.
Some Western countries however, including the US have warned that an attack by Russia could come at any time.
Diplomatic talks aimed at resolving the conflict are expected across Europe on Thursday.
In 2014 Russia annexed Ukraine’s southern Crimea peninsula.
Since 2014, there has been a long-running conflict in eastern Ukraine, where Russian-backed separatists control swathes of territory and at least 14,000 people have been killed.
Some 30,000 Russian troops are expected to take part in the drills with Belarus.
