Ukraine Urges Belarus to Withdraw Troops from Border

KYIV – Government Ukraine has been pressing Belarus to withdraw its troops in large numbers on the border between the two countries. Kyiv warned Minsk not to make a “tragic mistake”.

Citing intelligence reports, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said that the Belarusian Armed Forces concentrated a large number of personnel, tanks and artillery, in the Gomel Region under the guise of exercises.

“The presence of mercenaries from the former PMC Wagner was also recorded,” the ministry said in a statement quoted from its website, Monday (26/8/2024).

The ministry then argued that holding exercises near the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) poses a threat to Ukraine’s national security and global security in general.

The ministry warned Minsk against making a tragic mistake and urged it to stop unfriendly actions, “and withdraw troops from the Ukrainian state border to a distance beyond the firing range of Belarusian systems,” the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry continued.

“Ukraine has never taken and will not take unfriendly actions against the Belarusian people,” the ministry added, stressing that Ukraine reserves the right to defend itself in the event of an attack.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has previously accused Kyiv of a dangerous military buildup, with more than 120,000 troops on standby on its northern border.

“After seeing their aggressive policy, we have deployed our troops to certain areas near our borders,” Lukashenko said in an interview with VGTRK.

“I was forced to deploy almost a third of the army [Belarusia] to strengthen existing troops,” he explained.