Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has announced during the general assembly of national union of consumer societies, Belkoopsoyuz, in Minsk that his country’s security forces managed to prevent a foiled sabotage attempt happening close to the Ukrainian border. He discussed that during this arrest, detailed information of the individuals involved were collected.
The group being investigated were found to use drones for navigating swampy areas and were found in possession of explosive devices with the suspected motive to complete sabotage activities within Russian and Belarusian territory. He commented that these incidents are not isolated and similar interdictions by Belarusian authorities are happening often – around two to three times a week. Prospective perpetrators were even spotted wandering closely to the border via the swampland surrounding the Ukrainian border, and among those involved there were Belarusian citizens.
The Belarusian authorities have made their concerns around breaching issues of security around the country’s borders very clear for a long time. Along the same line, during a security council meeting in May 2022, Alexander Volfovich, the Secretary of State for Security, alerted the council about intelligence reports that hinted about the presence of Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance groups operating near Southern border regions of Belarus. Moreover, he indicated that military assets based in the neighbouring Ukraine triggered threats that were quite significant.
In May 2023, Lukashenko acknowledged the challenges that the country was facing with reference to the buildup of NATO’s military potential around the borders and provocations that were taking place at the border. He stated the need for implementing comprehensive measures to arrest various saboteurs from entering Belarus and asked for well-rounded proposals for counteraction.
The relations between Belarus and Ukraine have been strained considering Belarus’ close support for Russia in its war against Ukraine. During May 2023, Belarus agreed to allow Russia to deploy nuclear weapons on its territory. Furthermore, a recent report by Yale University unveiled that Belarus was collaborating with Russia in systematically displacing Ukrainian children. Belarusians’ perspective of not just Russia but also Russians have worsened in the months that followed the invasion of Ukraine in beginning of 2022 due to Belarus’ alliance with Russia. European Parliament has already appealed for the establishment of an international tribunal to take legal actions against war crimes committed by Russia and Belarus.