This was announced by Deputy Chief of the Main Operational Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Oleksii Hromov, at a briefing on 11 August. According to him, Russia continues to draw Belarus into the full-scale war against Ukraine:
“According to preliminary data, up to 13,000 people from among the active and retired military units of the Belarusian special operations forces, as well as from the OMON [special police force], signed an agreement to participate in the war against Ukraine,” Hromov said.