Refugees from Odessa city in Ukraine arrive in Przemysl, Poland, on May 12, 2022.(Photo: PAP/VNA)

The CSTO is a military alliance of several post-Soviet states: Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan.

Shoygu said the West is purposefully working to undermine relations among the CSTO states, but Russia will continue to provide needed assistance to its allies to counteract emerging threats and protect their sovereignty.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry announced Tuesday that it is imposing an entry ban on 154 members of the UK's House of Lords in retaliation for sanctions in March by the British government on almost all the members of Russia's Federation Council, its upper house of parliament.