Belarus has given its security forces broad powers to prevent or respond to provocations by neighboring countries, Foreign Minister Volodymyr Makei told Russian newspaper Izvestia in an interview published on Friday, Reuters reported.

“The head of our country held a series of meetings with law enforcement agencies and the ATO regime was introduced,” Izvestia quoted Makei as saying.

“There was information that some neighboring states are planning to confiscate certain areas of the territory of Belarus to a greater or lesser extent.”

The anti-terrorist operation regime gives law enforcement officers broad powers, including detention for identity checks, curfews, wiretapping and monitoring of all communications, and unrestricted access for agents to any premises.

A flurry of military activity in Belarus this week has caught the attention of Ukraine and the West as a possible sign that Lukashenko may be mobilizing his army to support Russia in its war in Ukraine.

Lukashenko accused Ukraine of preparing an attack on Belarus

On Monday, Lukashenko told a security meeting that he had ordered troops to deploy alongside Russian forces near Ukraine in response to what he said was a clear threat to Belarus from Kyiv and its supporters in the West.

The state news agency Belta reported that at the meeting, Lukashenko stated that he instructed the country’s intelligence agency, the KGB, to take the necessary measures to fight terrorism.

“We must have countermeasures, including military ones,” Lukashenko said, Belta quotes.

“(It is) to detect and localize threats in a timely manner and, if necessary, to respond adequately to any military manifestations against Belarus.”

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