06:17Mandatory credit: Pul Pervogo
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko announced the strengthening of state border defences amid reports of Ukrainian military activity while speaking at a ceremonial meeting in celebration of the country’s Independence Day in Minsk on Tuesday.
"Recently, our border guards and military have intercepted dozens of reconnaissance vehicles, especially drones, already on our territory, which penetrate more than one metre into the territory of Belarus," Lukashenko claimed.
"The Air Force and Air Defence Forces are on alert. Both our and Russia's military. We have full co-operation. The Polonez and Iskander missile systems are in position. You already know what kind of ammunition they carry," he continued.
The president added that Minsk would 'defend and protect ourselves' from Ukrainian UAVs 'wherever they are destined'.
"These drones are carrying centners, not kilograms, of the most advanced explosives into the territory of Belarus. We know the routes. In most cases, they are transferred to the Russian Federation in order to commit terrorist acts," he claimed.
Pavel Muraveiko, chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Belarus, reported 'unfounded and unexplained' AFU activity at the Ukraine-Belarus border on Saturday, June 29.
He added that Minsk had detected Ukrainian troop manoeuvres and 'periodic flights of Bayraktar type drones' close to the Belarus border.
Representative of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine, Andriy 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. Zelensky imposed martial law throughout the country, announcing a general mobilisation, while the EU and the US imposed several rounds of sanctions on Moscow.
Lukashenko announces strengthening of state border guards amid reports of AFU military activation in border regions
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko announced the strengthening of state border defences amid reports of Ukrainian military activity while speaking at a ceremonial meeting in celebration of the country’s Independence Day in Minsk on Tuesday.
"Recently, our border guards and military have intercepted dozens of reconnaissance vehicles, especially drones, already on our territory, which penetrate more than one metre into the territory of Belarus," Lukashenko claimed.
"The Air Force and Air Defence Forces are on alert. Both our and Russia's military. We have full co-operation. The Polonez and Iskander missile systems are in position. You already know what kind of ammunition they carry," he continued.
The president added that Minsk would 'defend and protect ourselves' from Ukrainian UAVs 'wherever they are destined'.
"These drones are carrying centners, not kilograms, of the most advanced explosives into the territory of Belarus. We know the routes. In most cases, they are transferred to the Russian Federation in order to commit terrorist acts," he claimed.
Pavel Muraveiko, chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Belarus, reported 'unfounded and unexplained' AFU activity at the Ukraine-Belarus border on Saturday, June 29.
He added that Minsk had detected Ukrainian troop manoeuvres and 'periodic flights of Bayraktar type drones' close to the Belarus border.
Representative of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine, Andriy 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. Zelensky imposed martial law throughout the country, announcing a general mobilisation, while the EU and the US imposed several rounds of sanctions on Moscow.
Mandatory credit: Pul Pervogo
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko announced the strengthening of state border defences amid reports of Ukrainian military activity while speaking at a ceremonial meeting in celebration of the country’s Independence Day in Minsk on Tuesday.
"Recently, our border guards and military have intercepted dozens of reconnaissance vehicles, especially drones, already on our territory, which penetrate more than one metre into the territory of Belarus," Lukashenko claimed.
"The Air Force and Air Defence Forces are on alert. Both our and Russia's military. We have full co-operation. The Polonez and Iskander missile systems are in position. You already know what kind of ammunition they carry," he continued.
The president added that Minsk would 'defend and protect ourselves' from Ukrainian UAVs 'wherever they are destined'.
"These drones are carrying centners, not kilograms, of the most advanced explosives into the territory of Belarus. We know the routes. In most cases, they are transferred to the Russian Federation in order to commit terrorist acts," he claimed.
Pavel Muraveiko, chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Belarus, reported 'unfounded and unexplained' AFU activity at the Ukraine-Belarus border on Saturday, June 29.
He added that Minsk had detected Ukrainian troop manoeuvres and 'periodic flights of Bayraktar type drones' close to the Belarus border.
Representative of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine, Andriy 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. Zelensky imposed martial law throughout the country, announcing a general mobilisation, while the EU and the US imposed several rounds of sanctions on Moscow.