Belarus president puts military on alert amid EU border tensions | DW | 17.09.2020

Embattled Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko on Thursday said troops would be pulled from the street to guard its borders with EU countries.

"We are compelled to withdraw our troops from the streets, have half our army on guard and close our state border with the West, first of all with Lithuania and Poland," said Lukashenko. "To our greatest regret, we are compelled to strengthen our border with brotherly Ukraine."

Polish officials said the situation had not yet changed at the border.

"We take this as another element of the propaganda campaign, a psychological game which aims to create a sense of an external threat," Polish Deputy Foreign Minister Pawel Jablonski told Reuters news agency.

Lithuanian border authorities also confirmed that the situation at the border with Belarus remained normal, saying they are waiting to see how the changes are implemented.