Russian Presidential spokesperson Dmitri Peskov responded on Monday to the Belarusian Defence Ministry's claims of a buildup of Ukrainian forces at the Ukraine-Belarus border, saying that it was concerning for both Minsk and Moscow.
"Belarus is a [part of the] Union State, and we have special formats of dialogue through all the relevant agencies, including the special services. And our defence ministries are in constant contact. Therefore, of course, this is a cause for concern not only for Minsk but also for Moscow, since we are indeed allies and partners," Peskov stated.
The Kremlin also strongly condemned what it called 'discriminatory activities on the part of NATO', by refusing to accredit Russian journalists at the alliance summit in Washington DC on July 9-11.
"Undoubtedly, this infringes on the rights of media representatives. It certainly shows that NATO and the relevant services of the North Atlantic Alliance are resorting to a country-based discriminatory policy with regard to the media, which is absolutely unacceptable and contrary to all the norms and principles of information openness and transparency. Although we expect neither of those things from this alliance," Peskov added.
NATO has not commented on the claims.
Pavel Muraveiko, chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Belarus, reported on Saturday, June 29, a 'so far unfounded and unexplained' AFU activity at the Ukraine-Belarus border.
"Special action units of [Ukraine’s] 1st Presidential Operational Brigade arrived in Ukraine’s Ovruch, Zhytomyr region, [bordering Belarus]. [The presence of] special action units close to the state border is always alarming. They pose a real challenge of positioning sabotage and reconnaissance groups, capable of provoking, across our territory," Muraveiko explained.
He added that they had detected Ukrainian troops’ manoeuvres, and 'periodic flights of Bayraktar type drones' close to the Belarus border.
"We face provocations by unmanned aircraft at the tactical level, which breaches our state border. We see mining and the building up of engineer obstacles. We have to deploy our units there, co-operate with the border guard services, reinforce certain directions and prepare to cover them, as well as move artillery there to ensure timely response," Muraveiko stated.
Meanwhile, the Head of the Ukraine's Centre for Counteracting Disinformation, AFU Lieutenant Andrei Kovalenko, described the claims as false.
"Russia has been inventing various 'breaking news' for a week now, which the Belarusian border guards have been analysing. The actual threat comes from Belarus - there are Russian sabotage-reconnaissance groups. Their objective is simple: to increase tension and consequently draw in more of our forces there. Any information on our activity at the border is a lie," he wrote on his Telegram channel.
The State Border Guard Service of Ukraine Representative Andrei Demchenko said on Monday that the Ukraine-Belarus border remains a 'threatening direction' for Kiev and the service continues "to reinforce it, engineer-wise, and have the military equipment and personnel necessary to prevent any action coming from the Belarusian territory".
Moscow launched a military offensive in Ukraine in late February 2022 after recognising the independence of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics (DPR and LPR), claiming that Kiev had failed to guarantee their special status under the 2014 Minsk Agreements, and urging Ukraine to declare itself officially neutral and give assurances that it would never join NATO.
Kiev denounced the Russian action as an invasion. Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky imposed martial law throughout the country, announcing a general mobilisation, while the EU and the US imposed several rounds of sanctions on Moscow.
'Сause for concern - not only for Minsk but also for Moscow' - Peskov on reports of AFU troops massing at Ukraine-Belarus border
Russian Presidential spokesperson Dmitri Peskov responded on Monday to the Belarusian Defence Ministry's claims of a buildup of Ukrainian forces at the Ukraine-Belarus border, saying that it was concerning for both Minsk and Moscow.
"Belarus is a [part of the] Union State, and we have special formats of dialogue through all the relevant agencies, including the special services. And our defence ministries are in constant contact. Therefore, of course, this is a cause for concern not only for Minsk but also for Moscow, since we are indeed allies and partners," Peskov stated.
The Kremlin also strongly condemned what it called 'discriminatory activities on the part of NATO', by refusing to accredit Russian journalists at the alliance summit in Washington DC on July 9-11.
"Undoubtedly, this infringes on the rights of media representatives. It certainly shows that NATO and the relevant services of the North Atlantic Alliance are resorting to a country-based discriminatory policy with regard to the media, which is absolutely unacceptable and contrary to all the norms and principles of information openness and transparency. Although we expect neither of those things from this alliance," Peskov added.
NATO has not commented on the claims.
Pavel Muraveiko, chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Belarus, reported on Saturday, June 29, a 'so far unfounded and unexplained' AFU activity at the Ukraine-Belarus border.
"Special action units of [Ukraine’s] 1st Presidential Operational Brigade arrived in Ukraine’s Ovruch, Zhytomyr region, [bordering Belarus]. [The presence of] special action units close to the state border is always alarming. They pose a real challenge of positioning sabotage and reconnaissance groups, capable of provoking, across our territory," Muraveiko explained.
He added that they had detected Ukrainian troops’ manoeuvres, and 'periodic flights of Bayraktar type drones' close to the Belarus border.
"We face provocations by unmanned aircraft at the tactical level, which breaches our state border. We see mining and the building up of engineer obstacles. We have to deploy our units there, co-operate with the border guard services, reinforce certain directions and prepare to cover them, as well as move artillery there to ensure timely response," Muraveiko stated.
Meanwhile, the Head of the Ukraine's Centre for Counteracting Disinformation, AFU Lieutenant Andrei Kovalenko, described the claims as false.
"Russia has been inventing various 'breaking news' for a week now, which the Belarusian border guards have been analysing. The actual threat comes from Belarus - there are Russian sabotage-reconnaissance groups. Their objective is simple: to increase tension and consequently draw in more of our forces there. Any information on our activity at the border is a lie," he wrote on his Telegram channel.
The State Border Guard Service of Ukraine Representative Andrei Demchenko said on Monday that the Ukraine-Belarus border remains a 'threatening direction' for Kiev and the service continues "to reinforce it, engineer-wise, and have the military equipment and personnel necessary to prevent any action coming from the Belarusian territory".
Moscow launched a military offensive in Ukraine in late February 2022 after recognising the independence of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics (DPR and LPR), claiming that Kiev had failed to guarantee their special status under the 2014 Minsk Agreements, and urging Ukraine to declare itself officially neutral and give assurances that it would never join NATO.
Kiev denounced the Russian action as an invasion. Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky imposed martial law throughout the country, announcing a general mobilisation, while the EU and the US imposed several rounds of sanctions on Moscow.
Russian Presidential spokesperson Dmitri Peskov responded on Monday to the Belarusian Defence Ministry's claims of a buildup of Ukrainian forces at the Ukraine-Belarus border, saying that it was concerning for both Minsk and Moscow.
"Belarus is a [part of the] Union State, and we have special formats of dialogue through all the relevant agencies, including the special services. And our defence ministries are in constant contact. Therefore, of course, this is a cause for concern not only for Minsk but also for Moscow, since we are indeed allies and partners," Peskov stated.
The Kremlin also strongly condemned what it called 'discriminatory activities on the part of NATO', by refusing to accredit Russian journalists at the alliance summit in Washington DC on July 9-11.
"Undoubtedly, this infringes on the rights of media representatives. It certainly shows that NATO and the relevant services of the North Atlantic Alliance are resorting to a country-based discriminatory policy with regard to the media, which is absolutely unacceptable and contrary to all the norms and principles of information openness and transparency. Although we expect neither of those things from this alliance," Peskov added.
NATO has not commented on the claims.
Pavel Muraveiko, chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Belarus, reported on Saturday, June 29, a 'so far unfounded and unexplained' AFU activity at the Ukraine-Belarus border.
"Special action units of [Ukraine’s] 1st Presidential Operational Brigade arrived in Ukraine’s Ovruch, Zhytomyr region, [bordering Belarus]. [The presence of] special action units close to the state border is always alarming. They pose a real challenge of positioning sabotage and reconnaissance groups, capable of provoking, across our territory," Muraveiko explained.
He added that they had detected Ukrainian troops’ manoeuvres, and 'periodic flights of Bayraktar type drones' close to the Belarus border.
"We face provocations by unmanned aircraft at the tactical level, which breaches our state border. We see mining and the building up of engineer obstacles. We have to deploy our units there, co-operate with the border guard services, reinforce certain directions and prepare to cover them, as well as move artillery there to ensure timely response," Muraveiko stated.
Meanwhile, the Head of the Ukraine's Centre for Counteracting Disinformation, AFU Lieutenant Andrei Kovalenko, described the claims as false.
"Russia has been inventing various 'breaking news' for a week now, which the Belarusian border guards have been analysing. The actual threat comes from Belarus - there are Russian sabotage-reconnaissance groups. Their objective is simple: to increase tension and consequently draw in more of our forces there. Any information on our activity at the border is a lie," he wrote on his Telegram channel.
The State Border Guard Service of Ukraine Representative Andrei Demchenko said on Monday that the Ukraine-Belarus border remains a 'threatening direction' for Kiev and the service continues "to reinforce it, engineer-wise, and have the military equipment and personnel necessary to prevent any action coming from the Belarusian territory".
Moscow launched a military offensive in Ukraine in late February 2022 after recognising the independence of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics (DPR and LPR), claiming that Kiev had failed to guarantee their special status under the 2014 Minsk Agreements, and urging Ukraine to declare itself officially neutral and give assurances that it would never join NATO.
Kiev denounced the Russian action as an invasion. Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky imposed martial law throughout the country, announcing a general mobilisation, while the EU and the US imposed several rounds of sanctions on Moscow.