A still image from a video released by Belarus shows the movement of a convoy of tanks to a designated area on the country's border with Ukraine. (Source: Kanal 13)

On August 12, Sputnik news agency quoted the Belarusian Defense Ministry as saying that the head of the ministry, Viktor Khrenin, and his Russian counterpart, Andrei Belousov, discussed the current military and political situation, taking place right after the opening ceremony of the International Military-Technical Forum (Army 2024) near Moscow.

Meanwhile, servicemen from the Belarusian air force and air defense are also traveling to Russia to participate in a joint operational and tactical exercise, including live-fire exercises. However, it is unclear when this will take place.

On the same day, the ministry also announced that it was preparing to mobilize units of a mechanized brigade to the border area with Ukraine to reinforce its forces. The ministry also released a video recording a convoy of tanks moving.

Previously, on August 10, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko announced that his country had destroyed a number of drones originating from Ukraine, and ordered the reinforcement of military groups on the border with Ukraine in the tactical directions of Gomel and Mozyr.

Belarusian Defense Minister Viktor Khrenin then tasked units of the Special Operations Forces, Army and Missile Forces, including Polonaise missile systems and Iskander missile systems, to march to designated areas.

Minister Khrenin also noted that the decision to increase troop groups was made taking into account the situation in Ukraine and Russia's Kursk region.

However, also on August 12, Reuters news agency quoted Ukrainian Border Guard spokesman Andriy Demchenko as saying that there were no signs of Belarusian forces massing troops near the border between the two countries.

The above moves by Belarus took place in the context of the situation in Russia's Kursk province remaining tense, when the acting governor of this province, Alexei Smirnov, said on the same day that the Ukrainian army is currently controlling 28 residential areas here.

According to him, 12 civilians were killed, 121 people were injured, including 10 children, and the fate of about 2,000 people in these residential areas is still unknown.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said it is necessary to prepare for new attacks by the Ukrainian Armed Forces that may occur in the border area, including in Bryansk province.