Ukraine eyes Belarus border activities as Russian strikes persist

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has reiterated warnings to Belarus not to get involved in Russia’s invasion as he reported unusual activity near the shared border between the two.

In a video address shared on social media on Saturday, Zelenskyy said, without offering details regarding the suspicious activity along sections of the border, that Ukraine is ready to respond

“We are closely documenting everything and keeping the situation under control,” he said, warning that “everyone who is being drawn into any aggressive actions against Ukraine must understand” that the country is ready to defend its sovereignty.

Last month, Zelenskyy warned Minsk against getting entangled in the conflict, saying he believed that Moscow would attempt to draw it into its war.

The Ukrainian leader announced that new roads and artillery positions were being set up along the border between the two, accusing Russia of using apartment blocks in Belarus to launch attacks and circumvent Ukraine’s defences in December.

Launching its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Russian forces crossed the border from Belarus towards Kyiv. However, Belarus did not participate directly in the fighting.

‘Brutal attack’

During his address, Zelenskyy also reported that the city of Kherson in southern Ukraine had come under “brutal attack,” with drones targeting civilian transport. Ukrainian media reported that at least two people were killed in a strike on a minibus in the Dniprovskyi district.

The president also reported strikes in Dnipro, Odesa, Sumy and Kharkiv, and that a drone struck an energy infrastructure facility, but that power had since been restored.

Russia’s Ministry of Defence, meanwhile, reported it was making advances on the front line. It said it had taken control of the village of Myropillia in the Sumy region on Saturday, the Reuters news agency reported.

On Wednesday, it had said that it had taken control of Novodmytrivka, north of Kostiantynivka in the eastern Donetsk region.

Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Oleksandr Syrskii said Russian troops were making their way towards Kostiantynivka, which is part of the “fortress belt area” that is heavily defended by the Ukrainian military. He noted that Russia’s assaults had risen noticeably in April.

Ukrainian officials also reported that Russia launched more than 400 drones during the day on Friday. Meanwhile, Ukrainian drones hit Russia’s Tuapse port for the fourth time in 16 days, as part of what Zelenskyy described on Wednesday as a “new stage in the use of Ukrainian weapons to limit the potential of Russia’s war”.