Russia pressures Belarus for large-scale invasion of Ukraine: Border guards warn of threat

Russia has ramped up pressure on Minsk in an attempt to force Belarus into direct and larger-scale participation in the war against Ukraine, Radio Svoboda reports. Andriy Demchenko, spokesman for the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine, warns that the risk of enemy provocations remains, and a potential direct invasion by Belarusian forces in the future cannot be entirely ruled out.

Demchenko says that since 2022, Belarus has maintained a small number of units along the Ukrainian border. While these forces undergo periodic rotations, their overall numbers have not increased.

"At the same time, intelligence reports regarding developments deeper within the country indicate that Russia has begun pressuring Belarus more aggressively to join the war against Ukraine on a larger scale using its own forces," the State Border Guard Service spokesman said.

Demchenko suggested that "provocations along our border could occur in the future," adding that "an invasion cannot be ruled out either."

However, he says that Russia currently has no strike groups deployed there. Nevertheless, Moscow could redeploy troops to Belarus at any moment, utilizing the infrastructure facilities currently being built by Minsk.