Any violation of Ukraine’s state border by Belarus will be met by ‘all necessary measures to exercise the right to self defense’, Kiyv warns.
Belarus’ Armed Forces are “concentrating a significant number of personnel” as well as weaponry along Ukraine’s northern border with Belarus prompting Ukraine to issue an official warning.
and urging Belarus to withdraw forces away from the border to a distance greater than the firing range of Belarus systems’
In its statement, Ukraine’s foreign ministry said: ‘We warn that in case of a violation of Ukraine’s state border by Belarus, our state will take all necessary measures to exercise the right to self defense guaranteed by the UN Charter. Consequently, all troop concentrations, military facilities, and supply routes in Belarus will become legitimate targets for the Armed Forces of Ukraine.’
Kyiv also noted that some former Wagner PMC troops were present in the area.
Ukraine and Belarus share a 1,084 km long border.
According to Ukraine’s statement, military exercises in the border area pose a “global security” threat due to how close the Chernobyl Nuclear Power plant — site of the world’s worst nuclear disaster.
Belarus had allowed Russian troops to use its territory as a launchpad for their February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.