08:53 02/09/2021
Belarus's authoritarian leader, Alyaksandr Lukashenka, said his country would soon receive a large shipment of military equipment from Russia.
Speaking in the Belarusian city of Babrushk on Wednesday, Lukashenka said dozens of aircraft and air defense systems, including "possibly" S-400 missile systems, would be sent from neighboring Russia to Belarus "in the near future."
He gave no other details, but confirmed earlier reports of a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Lukashenka said that on September 9, he will hold talks with Putin in Moscow on further integration between the two countries.
Lukashenka has been facing periodic protests against his regime for a year now.
The opposition has refused to accept Lukashenka's victory in the August elections of last year, due to, as it has said, the manipulation of votes.
Western countries have also refused to recognize Lukashenka as the legitimate president and have imposed a series of sanctions against his regime, due to the brutal suppression of the opposition movement.
Lukashenka said on Wednesday that deeper integration with Russia will not deprive his country of its sovereignty.
"We are building our ties as two sovereign states," he said.
Russian and Belarusian forces are expected to hold major military exercises this month./REL
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