NHK has learned that at least 500 Belarusian volunteers have traveled to Ukraine to fight against Russian troops.

An organization in Warsaw linked to Ukraine's Azov Battalion has been training Belarusian fighters in Poland and sending them to Ukraine, according to the leader of the organization, Pavel Kukhta. The Azov Battalion has been putting up resistance against the Russian invasion in eastern Ukraine.

Kukhta said the Belarusian legion is fighting in coordination with the Azov Battalion.

Kukhta, who is a Belarusian himself, said it is an obligation of a civilized society to help Ukraine. He said where Russians take up arms, there is always destruction and civilians are killed.

He also said leaders in the Kremlin have not given up their ambition to expand their territory at every opportunity.

At the government level, Belarus is a close ally of Russia. It held joint military exercises with Russian forces in its territory before the invasion began. This allowed Russian forces who remained in Belarus to launch their invasion close to Kyiv.

But Kukhta said some people in Belarus are critical of the Russian attack and are beginning to support Ukraine.