Belarus Deploys a Third of Army Along Border With Ukraine: Lukashenko
A map showing the location of Belarus. Photo: X/ @AKorybko
August 19, 2024 Hour: 7:51 am
Ukraine had stationed more than 120,000 troops at its border with Belarus.
Belarus has deployed a third of its army along the border with Ukraine, BelTA news agency reported Sunday, citing Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko in an interview with Russian media.
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Lukashenko said that Ukraine had stationed more than 120,000 troops at its border with Belarus, adding that Ukrainian drones constantly violate the border with Belarus. He also noted that the Belarusian-Ukrainian border is heavily mined “as never before.”
Belarus reinforced its border with Ukraine last week, accusing Ukraine of violating its airspace during a military incursion into Russia’s Kursk region. Lukashenko also announced that Russia and Belarus jointly planned their defensive tactics on the western border and can turn them into offensive ones in the face of threats from the West.
“On the western border we have defensive fortifications, from Brest and Grodno and above… Virtually the entire border with Lithuania and Poland is armored in favorable conditions for us,” he said, adding that Russian President Vladimir Putin participated in the planning of the defense of the western flank.
“We see where the most powerful attack against our union and our joint military grouping can come from. We do not relax in the western zone. Moreover, we reinforce our army with the most powerful Russian weapons, both conventional and nuclear,” Lukashenko pointed out.
Regarding the Ukrainian incursion into the Russian Kursk region, he noted that there were “no unprofessional soldiers. They were chosen from the entire front line, with combat experience.” He also denounced the presence of “Polish mercenaries” in this Kiev operation, which is now in its thirteenth day.
“Naturally, the Russian military and Putin… will wipe out the Ukrainian military in Kursk… The danger lies in the fact that this escalation by Ukraine is an attempt to push Russia into asymmetric responses. For example, the use of nuclear weapons. I know for sure that Ukraine would be very happy if Russia used tactical nuclear weapons there. It would be happiness,” the Belarusian leader said.
He warned that if this happens, Ukraine would be left without allies. Therefore, he again defended the need to resume negotiations between Moscow and Ukraine from the point of view of the agreements reached in Istanbul.
teleSUR/ JF Source: Xinhua – EFE