Belarus prepares for war, arming civil defence and readying shelters

The ex-Soviet republic of Belarus is stepping up its own military activities against the backdrop of Russia's faltering invasion of Ukraine.

The country has formed civil defence units which, together with the military, could be called upon "to defend the fatherland," the country's head of civil defence, Vadim Sinyavsky, told state television on Sunday.

"We have received all the weapons we were supposed to get from the Defence Ministry," Sinyavsky said, noting that there were around 5,000 underground facilities that could be used as bomb shelters in Belarus.

Meanwhile, Belarusian border guards announced that they had reinforced their units at the border "due to Ukraine's increased reconnaissance activity."

Earlier on Sunday, Russia sent the first soldiers to Belarus as part of a new joint force aimed at protecting the border with Ukraine, according to the country's Defence Ministry.

"The first trains carrying Russian soldiers ... have arrived in Belarus," Russian state news agency Tass quoted a Defence Ministry spokesperson in Minsk as saying on Sunday.

"The transfer will take several days. The total number will be slightly less than 9,000 people," the spokesperson said. Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko announced plans for the joint regional force on Monday.

Russia has already been using Belarus as a deployment area for its invasion of Ukraine and also been launching air strikes on Ukrainian targets from there.

Lukashenko continues to deny his country plans to attack Ukraine. Intead, Minsk says that NATO and Ukraine have been planning an attack.

Tensions have risen in recent weeks after Russian aircraft resumed bombing Ukraine from Belarusian territory.

Military observers have so far considered it unlikely that Minsk itself will intervene in the war, as such a step could undermine Lukashenko's already unstable position of power in Belarus.

On the other hand, a Russian-Belarusian deployment from the border would tie up Ukrainian forces in the east and south of the country.

At the beginning of the war, the Russian military had used Belarusian territory to deploy troops attacking Ukraine. Belarus is considered Russia's closest ally - and was one of five countries to speak out against the condemnation of the Russian attack at the UN General Assembly.