Russian ally Belarus has launched alarming military drills right on NATO's doorstep after thousands of Wagner Group thugs poured into the territory.

Belarus warned it will "train troops in controlling units during combat" in a major military exercise that is currently underway.

Its defense ministry said the drills are based on experiences from Russia's "special military operation" - the term Moscow uses to describe its illegal invasion of Ukraine.

That is why President Lukashenko, a key ally of Vladimir Putin, is thought to have launched the alarming drills under the Kremlin's orders.

While no evidence of Wagner Group's involvement in the drills at Gozhsky training ground has emerged, it comes after thousands of Yevgeny Prigozhin's mercenaries piled up across an area bordering Poland and Lithuania.