Belarus orders new military command on Ukraine border

BELARUSIAN dictator Alexander Lukashenko yesterday ordered the creation of a new military command for the south of the country bordering Ukraine.

“A new front has opened and we can’t fail to pay attention to it,” Mr Lukashenko, wearing his military uniform, told a televised meeting of defence officials.

He said the new command had been proposed last year but now needed to be set up immediately.

“Even before creating it, we are obliged today – quickly, on the run, to work out the defence of our southern borders,” Mr Lukashenko said.

The Belarusian leader, who was nearly toppled by popular protests in 2020 before Vladimir Putin publicly

‘We are obliged today – quickly, on the run, to work out the defence of our southern borders’

backed him, has been instrumental in helping Russia with its invasion of Ukraine. Russian troops in February were able to quickly advance to the capital Kyiv by entering from Belarusian territory.

Mr Lukashenko, however, has stopped short of offering up Belarusian troops to bolster Moscow’s army.

Military analysts say the Belarusian army, at just 62,000 active military personnel, is too negligible for Russia to use in fighting in Ukraine.

Yet any build-up of Belarusian forces near the border risks further stretching Ukraine’s military as it tries to defend against Russian attacks in the east.

Belarus said earlier this month it planned to deploy special operations troops in three areas near the border with Ukraine, with Mr Lukashenko announcing that Russian missile systems will be deployed on Belarusian borders.