The Ministry of Defense of Belarus said on Sunday that almost 9,000 Russian troops will be stationed in Belarus as part of a “regional grouping” of forces to protect its borders, Reuters reports.

“The first military echelons with Russian servicemen who are part of the (regional group) have started arriving in Belarus,” Valery Revenko, head of the Department of International Military Cooperation of the Ministry of Defense, wrote on Twitter. “The move will last several days.

“The total number will be slightly less than 9 thousand people.”

More information will be provided at a briefing for military attachés, he added.

Last week, Belarusian President Oleksandr Lukashenko announced that Belarus and Russia would deploy joint military forces along the border with Ukraine, citing what he called threats from Ukraine and the West.

Oleksandr Lukashenko allegedly decided to announce a hidden mobilization, writes Nasha Niva, one of the oldest newspapers in Belarus, citing several independent sources.

“Nasha Niva” wrote that the mobilization will be carried out under the pretext of “checking” and that at the first stage it will not affect large cities, reservists will be mobilized from villages, but it is currently unknown whether the number of people who will receive an order for registration.

The publication also notes that Lukashenko decided not to publicly announce the mobilization due to the unpopularity of such an event in Belarus.

The Belarusian army has about 60,000 soldiers. At the beginning of this year, Belarus transferred 6 battalion tactical groups numbering several thousand people to the border areas. The head of the Belarusian border police accused Ukraine of border provocations.

Lukashenka’s threats to Ukraine and the West

Belarusian President Oleksandr Lukashenko on Friday warned Ukraine and the West not to drive away its ally Russia, saying that Moscow has nuclear weapons for a reason.

In an interview with the American TV channel NBC, Lukashenko said: “The most important thing is not to corner your interlocutor and even your opponent. Therefore, you should not cross these lines – those red lines, as the Russians say. You can’t get past them.”

Concerns have grown in the West that Russian President Vladimir Putin may resort to nuclear weapons as a series of defeats by his forces in Ukraine has shifted the dynamics of the war in Kiev’s favor.

“Regarding nuclear weapons, any weapon is a weapon created for something,” Lukashenko said.

“Russia has clearly outlined its position: God forbid an attack on the territory of the Russian Federation; in this case, Russia can use all types of weapons if necessary.”

Lukashenko is not allowed to influence Putin’s military decisions, but his comments underscored the heightened tensions between East and West as the war nears the end of its eighth month.