Belarus to work on new military doctrine -Russian news agencies

The defence ministry of Belarus has been tasked with developing a new military doctrine that would respond to the "escalation of global political tensions", Russian news agencies reported late on Tuesday.

The defence ministry of Belarus has been tasked with developing a new military doctrine that would respond to the "escalation of global political tensions", Russian news agencies reported late on Tuesday. Although not directly involved in Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko allowed Moscow to use his country's territory to launch the war and send Russian troops to Ukraine.

Russian agencies, which cited the Belarusian Security Council's resolution ordering the doctrine, would not provide details on what the new military guide might involve. The document orders "in the context of the escalation of global geopolitical tensions" the implementation of measures "aimed at protecting independence, territorial integrity, sovereignty and the constitutional order from external and internal threats", TASS agency reported.

The Belarusian Security Council has also instructed the defence ministry to finalise the draft law on forming a new voluntary territorial defence within a month. In February, Lukashenko ordered the formation of the militia of between 100,000-150,000 volunteers.