"Alarming": Army on the border; Military exercise launched

The maneuvers, entitled "Falcon Assault", will last until July 19 and take place at a training ground near the city of Brest, the Belarusian Ministry of Defense announced.

The exercises began ahead of the NATO summit in Washington, where 32 member states - including Poland - will meet to discuss further military and financial support for Ukraine.

By the way, Belarus - perhaps Russia's closest ally - has allowed Moscow to use its territory as one of the launch pads for its Ukraine 2022.

"The events taking place in the world are alarming, the situation is difficult, so we will practice new forms and methods of executing tactical tasks," said Major General Vadim Denisenko, head of the Belarusian special operations command.

As part of the "anti-terrorist exercises", Chinese and Belarusian military personnel will work out the issues of night landings, overcoming water barriers and conducting operations in populated areas, the Belarusian Defense Ministry announced.

Chinese troops can be seen disembarking from planes and unloading equipment in photos he posted on Telegram.

China's defense ministry said Belarus held a "grand welcoming ceremony" for Chinese troops on Thursday.

"The joint training aims to improve the coordination capabilities of the participating troops and deepen the practical cooperation between the two armies," the ministry announced.

It is not clear how many soldiers were involved in the exercises.