Ukraine’s State Border Guard Service (DPSU) said Belarus has continued to allow Russian drones to use relay stations on its territory on Friday, Oct. 23.
DPSU spokesperson Andrii Demchenko, speaking in a televised interview, added that the border agency has not recorded Russian troops being moved into Belarus or Belarusian forces being pulled toward the Ukrainian border.
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Demchenko said the threat from Belarus remains, but that border guards have no preliminary information pointing to preparations for an attack near the border, as reported by state media Ukrinform.
He said Russia is not sending additional infantry groups or units to Belarus.
According to Demchenko, Belarus is instead supporting Russia through relays that help guide Russian aerial weapons launched at Ukraine via Belarusian territory. He said he believes Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko wants to avoid committing Belarusian units to the war because they would suffer losses.
On June 19, President Volodymyr Zelensky gave Lukashenko a week to dismantle relays near the border, and said on June 24 that they had stopped working two days prior. Zelensky said it was unclear whether the equipment had been dismantled.
In September, Demchenko said border guards had detected the relays being activated again, amplifying signals for Russia’s Shahed and Gerbera drones heading toward western Ukraine’s Rivne, Volyn and Lviv regions.
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He linked the relays to the Sept. 13 drone attack near the Yahodyn crossing with Poland. Russian independent outlet Meduza said that drones struck a gas station near the crossing and a passenger train on the Kyiv-Warsaw line.
Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya said on Sept. 23, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, that she considers a new Russian attack from Belarusian territory a real possibility.
“If Russia at some point again wants to attack Ukraine in any way from the northern border, then Lukashenko will be very happy to provide territory, logistics, and Belarusian infrastructure to help [Russian leader Vladimir] Putin achieve his goals and intentions,” she said.
The Associated Press reported in July that Lukashenko has repeatedly said he has no plans to send troops into the war unless Belarus is attacked.
Anastasiia Bzova is journalist covering politics, culture and current affairs. She focuses on delivering accurate, accessible reporting that helps readers understand the issues shaping their opinions.