Ukraine orders Belarus to withdraw troops from border

Kyiv has warned that Belarus is amassing military hardware and personnel at its border with Ukraine while pretending to be conducting military drills.

Authorities in Ukraine gave the Kremlin-aligned country orders to remove its troops and pleaded with it not to commit “tragic mistakes.”

According to reports, tanks, artillery, air defense systems, engineering equipment, special forces, and former Wagner mercenary fighters are among the tools being gathered in the Gomel area, which is close to Ukraine’s northern border.

Ukrainian government sources told The Telegraph that its intervention was not meant to be seen as a warning of imminent danger at the border.

However, Kyiv’s foreign ministry said in a statement that if Belarus violated its territory, Ukraine would defend itself and “every group of troops, military facility, and military supply route in Belarus will be legitimate targets”.

The warning came during Ukraine’s incursion into Kursk and Russia’s advance into eastern Ukraine

Under the guise of military exercises, Belarus is allegedly “concentrating a significant number of personnel, including special operations forces, weapons, and military equipment,” according to information shared by Ukrainian officials.

Forces ‘ill-equipped’

Last week, Alexander Lukashenko, the Belarusian president, claimed Ukraine had earlier this month sent more than 120,000 troops to the border between the two nations – a claim denied by Kyiv.

He said that Minsk had deployed nearly a third of its armed forces to the region in response.

Konrad Muzyka, a defence analyst at Rochan Consulting, said it was “unlikely Belarus is considering offensive action against Ukraine at this stage”.

He added: “Our long-term assessment is that the Belarusian armed forces primarily function as a mobilisation force, which would require a significant increase in manpower through mobilisation to conduct any offensive operations.