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President Volodymyr Zelensky warned Russia may use Belarus to intensify missile and drone attacks on western Ukraine, putting the region under a growing threat.
Speaking to journalists on Oct. 17, Zelensky said Russia was already using drone signal repeaters in Belarus and that he believed Russian President Vladimir Putin needed the support of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko to station additional ballistic missiles in the country.
“But this is a direct involvement of Belarus in this war, and [that] is, in my opinion, very dangerous. And, of course, for Belarus too,” Zelensky said.
Ukraine's State Border Guard Service spokesperson Andrii Demchenko has separately reported that equipment based in Belarus helps relay or amplify signals for Russian Shahed and Geran drones heading toward western Ukraine and Poland's border region.
In September, Ukraine's military intelligence chief Oleh Ivashchenko said that units of Russia's 101st Missile Brigade, equipped with the Oreshnik intermediate-range ballistic missile system, had been deployed to Belarus.
A series of Russian attacks has struck cities and communities across western Ukraine in recent days, including in Volyn, Rivne and Lviv oblasts, resulting in deaths and injuries, damaged infrastructure and widespread power outages.
Zelensky also said Ukraine would increase air defenses across the country, distribute them according to the level of threat, and expand production of defensive turrets.