Belarus leader says his army not taking part in Ukraine invasion

Belarus' leader Alexander Lukashenko said Thursday that his military is not taking part in the Russian invasion of Ukraine, state media reported.

"Our armed forces are not taking part in this operation," Lukashenko, an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, said. Moscow has stationed tens of thousands of troops in Belarus.

Russia's ground forces on Thursday crossed into Ukraine from several directions, Ukraine's border guard service said, hours after President Vladimir Putin announced the launch of a major offensive.

Russian tanks and other heavy equipment crossed the frontier in several northern regions, as well as from the Kremlin-annexed peninsula of Crimea in the south, the agency said.