War in Ukraine: Soldiers, planes, armory… Belarus sends military reinforcements to the Ukrainian border

Belarus said Monday, August 19, 2024, it had sent additional troops, aircraft and an armory to its border with Ukraine, a day after Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said he had deployed nearly a third of his country's troops to the region.

According to state television, Air Force Commander Andrei Lukyanovich said that “the group has been significantly reinforced and is currently serving on the southern border of our country”.

Following the Ukrainian incursion into the Russian Kursk region, launched on August 6, 2024, Alexander Lukashenko, a loyal ally of his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, accused Kyiv of pursuing an aggressive policy and sending more than 120,000 troops to the border with Belarus.

"Rhetoric"

Ukrainian authorities have said they have not seen a reinforcement of the Belarusian army contingent on the border between the two countries and have dismissed Alexander Lukashenko's announcements as "rhetoric" designed to please Vladimir Putin.

Moscow used Belarus as a rear base for the launch in February 2022 of what it presented as a "special military operation" in Ukraine. Kyiv and its allies denounce an invasion.