Peter Stano, spokesman for the European Union's foreign policy service, said that the EU intended to respond to these actions in connection with the deployment of a joint force by Russia and Belarus.

According to him, the maneuvers between Moscow and Minsk could become a new escalation of the conflict in Ukraine.

The statement by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko that Belarus and Russia are starting to activate a joint grouping of troops will be a new escalation and will not go unanswered by the European Union, Stano said.

Another representative of the EU Foreign Affairs Service added that Lukashenko's allegations about a possible strike on Belarus from the territory of Ukraine were false.