Ukrainian State Border Guard Service spokesperson Andrii Demchenko said that border guards have not observed a concentration of Russian troops along the Belarusian border sufficient to launch an attack on Ukraine. He made the statement in an interview with Media Center Ukraine.
According to Demchenko, Russian forces are not present in Belarus in large numbers, and Russia has not transferred additional units there. At the same time, he said that Russian pressure on Belarus to join the war on Moscow’s side with its own forces is increasing.
“Tensions are rising because Russia is now exerting greater pressure on Belarus to join the war against our country on Russia’s side with its own forces. Therefore, neither a renewed invasion nor provocations can be ruled out. The risk remains, but intelligence units are monitoring developments deep inside Russian territory, at a certain distance from our border, so that we have time to respond to any challenges,” he said.
Demchenko noted that the Belarusian military periodically conducts combat readiness inspections and joint exercises with Russia, although activity declines in the intervals between them.
He stressed that the more than 1,000-kilometre border with Belarus requires attention along its entire length. The border guard official warned of possible provocations directed toward Kyiv and Ukraine’s western regions with the aim of disrupting logistics routes, as was observed in 2022. Ukraine is strengthening the border with engineering units and carrying out fortification work.
Demchenko recalled that the Belarusian authorities accuse Ukraine of drone attacks, whereas, according to him, most Russian drones used in large-scale strikes pass through Belarusian territory and enter Ukraine via the Kyiv and Zhytomyr regions. He said this tactic has become more frequent in recent weeks.
“Most of the drones launched by Russia for massive attacks on Ukraine enter Belarusian territory and pass through it before flying into Ukraine through the Kyiv and Zhytomyr regions. Over the past several weeks, an increase in the use of this tactic has been recorded,” he said.
