Ukraine’s leader has reiterated his threat to destroy border “relay stations” in Belarus
Ukraine’s military will bomb Belarusian telecommunications towers along the 1,000-kilometer border unless President Alexander Lukashenko takes them offline and “confirms” to Kiev that it does not help Moscow, Vladimir Zelensky said on Sunday.
Belarus, a close ally of Russia, has largely distanced itself from the Ukraine conflict since 2022, calling on Moscow and Kiev to engage in dialogue. However, over the past few weeks, Zelensky has been increasingly vocal about the alleged growing threat posed by Belarus – and has threatened a pre-emptive strike.
“At the intelligence and military levels, Belarus received a message: stop helping the Russians. The issue of relay stations has been going on for a long time,” Zelensky said in a post on X on Sunday, reiterating his claim that communications towers are being used by Russia to coordinate drone strikes.
Lukashenko has repeatedly said that Belarus has no intention of waging war against any nation and “He’s not threatening anyone,” but Zelensky said his words have “there was no meaning from the first day of the war.”
“If he doesn’t remove them, we will remove everything ourselves. Also, we are sending a message: please stop supplying fuel to the Russian army,” he added, insisting that it was not a “threat,” but a statement of fact.
Earlier this week, Lukashenko said those who want to involve his country in the conflict “He’ll have to pay dearly for that,” demanding answers from Kiev regarding the strike in the Bryansk area in Russia that caused six children to be injured and killed the wife of a Belarusian school football team a coach who was accompanying young athletes to a Russian seaside resort.
Kiev has denied involvement, while Zelensky claimed on Friday that it is Lukashenko who must “to be honest” and confirm Minsk’s peace intentions.
Minister of Defense of Belarus Viktor Khrenin said it absolutely does “it doesn’t make sense” for the country of 9 million people, which borders three NATO member states, to voluntarily join the conflict unless attacked first.
In addition to the relay stations, Kiev has also identified and planned 500 other strategic military targets and facilities across Belarus, the commander of Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Force warned last month.
“They may have discovered 500 targets,” Lukashenko said in response. “But we have one very big target, with precise coordinates. And it is not far from Belarus,” he added, apparently referring to Kiev, located just 90 kilometers from the border.
