Ukrainian military command says up to seven Belarusian battalions guard Ukrainian-Belarusian border

June 11, BPN. Up to seven battalions of the Belarusian Armed Forces continue to strengthen the Ukraine-Belarus border in the Brest and Homiel regions, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said in an operational report as of 6 a.m. on June 11.

It noted that Belarus has extended the surprise drills of its reaction forces until June 18 and the closure of the airspace over southern Belarus until July 8.

On June 9, Oleksiy Gromov of the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ General Staff confirmed new Russian air strikes on the Zhytomyr region from Belarusian territory and warned that the threat of missile and air strikes from Belarus on Ukraine remains.

On February 24, Russia started what it called a special military operation in Ukraine. Authorities in Minsk deny Belarusian army troops’ involvement in combat operations on the Russian side. However, Alaksandr Łukašenka admitted in the May 5 interview with AP that Russian troops entered Ukraine and launched missiles from Belarusian territory.