Belarus deploys extra forces and airplanes to Ukraine border – AP

Belarus has deployed planes and air defense troops to the border with Ukraine following President Alexander Lukashenko's announcement that he would station almost a third of the country's armed forces there.

The Associated Press reports this.

According to Major General Andrei Lukyanovich, Belarusian air defense forces commander, the country has also sent anti-aircraft missiles and soldiers from its radio engineering corps. He announced this on national television and called it a notable escalation.

On Sunday, the authoritarian leader of Belarus, Lukashenko, declared that nearly one-third of the army would be deployed to the border with Ukraine. While he did not disclose the exact number of troops, the Belarusian military consists of approximately 60,000 individuals.

Lukashenko stated that the decision was made in reaction to the presence of extra Ukrainian troops along the border, but an independent source could not verify this.

It is worth mentioning that Russia utilized Belarus, a country reliant on Russian loans and discounted energy, as a launching point for a large-scale invasion of Ukraine. This involved maneuvering troops through Belarus to attack Ukraine from the northern direction. Furthermore, in 2023, Russia transferred a portion of its tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus.

On Sunday, Lukashenko also urged for negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, but he acknowledged that Kyiv's ongoing invasion of Russia's Kursk region is impeding any potential talks. He referred to the "escalation" as a deliberate provocation towards Moscow.

For reference:

The president of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, claimed that Ukraine had violated the country's airspace. He stated that on the evening of August 9th, at an altitude of 1.5 kilometers and a range of 6.5 kilometers, Belarus' air defense forces shot down multiple targets over our territory.

Following this, Lukashenko directed the Belarusian military to increase its presence near the border with Ukraine. To achieve this, specialized units such as special forces, ground troops, and missile forces will be deployed to the Gomel and Mozyr areas. Polonaise missile systems and Iskander complexes will also be stationed there.

Additionally, the monitoring group "Belarusian Hajun" states that on August 9, drones were not sighted during the departure of the Belarusian military aircraft. Lukashenko's claims are baseless.

Moreover, the temporary chargé d'affaires of Ukraine in Belarus, Olha Tymush, was summoned to the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in connection with a note of protest regarding the alleged violation of Belarus's state border by Ukrainian drones.

It is worth reminding that on the night of July 31, Belarus witnessed the largest attack by Shahed kamikaze drones during the entire monitoring period. At least five Russian attack drones flew into the airspace of a neighboring country. However, Lukashenko did not react to such an incident of his ally.

The National Security and Defense Council's Center for Countering Disinformation claims that the recent strengthening of Belarusian troops along the Ukrainian border is a ploy to divert the attention of the Ukrainian military from the ongoing fighting in the Kursk region.

Meanwhile, on August 18, the State Border Service of Ukraine's spokesperson, Andrii Demchenko, stated that the situation along the border with Belarus has remained the same. According to Demchenko, Ukrainian border guards have not observed any movement of equipment or troops.