MINSK — Belarus has announced that its joint military exercises with Russia, which were due to end on Sunday, will now continue because of the aggravated tensions in neighboring Ukraine.

It means that Russian forces will remain in Belarus amid heightened tensions with the West, despite Moscow's promise that its forces would leave the country after the drills, which began on Feb. 10.

The presence of a large contingent of Russian troops in Belarus, which borders Ukraine to the north, has raised concern that they could be used to sweep down on the Ukrainian capital, Keiv.

Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko and Russia's Vladimir Putin decided "to continue testing the response forces of the union state", Defense Minister Viktor Khrenin said on Sunday.

Khrenin cited "the increase in military activity near the external borders of the union state and the aggravation of the situation in Donbas" — the region of eastern Ukraine controlled by pro-Russia separatists.

According to Minsk, the aim of the exercises remains "to assure an adequate response and a de-escalation of military preparations led by ill-intentioned people near the borders".

The announcement came shortly before French President Emmanuel Macron began a phone call with Putin, in what is seen as a last-minute diplomatic effort to try to avoid a Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Despite a previous statement announcing a military retreat, Russia is accused of massing 150,000 troops along Ukraine's borders to plan an invasion of the country. Washington has claimed that Moscow is looking for a pretext to do so, and that a spike in violence in the east could provide one.

Russia and Belarus have tight cooperation under an alliance referred to as the Union State, which stops short of the countries’ actual integration.

Moscow said that Lukashenko joined Putin at the Kremlin on Saturday to observe Russian forces conduct nuclear drills. — Euronews