Belarus verifies readiness to fight on the border, Ukraine secures Kyiv’s defenses

Belarus is testing the readiness of its troops in regions along its shared border with Ukraine, the Ukrainian Armed Forces said on Thursday as Kyiv secures its defenses against the threat of a second assault.

Belarusian special operations groups have been conducting combat readiness checks and troops in the Brest and Gomel regions of Belarus have begun bolstering their regional forces.

Tanks move during the Russia-Belarus Union Courage-2022 military exercises at the Obuz-Lesnovsky training camp in Belarus on February 19, 2022.
(AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko Jr)

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Belarus’ defense ministry also said on Thursday that 250 of its servicemen will take part in joint exercises in Russia, according to Belarusian media.

The announcements come a day after Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Kyiv would cut ties with Minsk if it joined Russia’s war effort and invaded Ukraine.

Officials have been warning Belarus for months not to get more directly involved in the war, and concerns have grown about how Ukraine might cope with a second war front in the north.

But even if Belarus does not order an invasion of Ukraine, Kyiv faces fresh threats from Moscow as Russia threatens another stab at the capital after failing to take it earlier this year.

The mall in Kyiv, Ukraine was hit by a rocket on March 20, 2022.
(Anastasia Vlasova/Getty Images)

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Comments made by the Kremlin and Russian-backed officials, along with recent missile attacks in Kyiv, have prompted Ukrainian defense officials to step up their security procedures in the capital.

“We have analyzed the previous actions of the enemy in the direction of Kyiv and, learning from this experience, we have predicted our appropriate actions,” Lt. Gen. Sergei Nayev said in a comment posted on Facebook. “The defensive positions are located exactly where [there is the] greater likelihood of attack by enemy forces.”

A woman wrapped in a Ukrainian flag attends the funeral of activist and soldier Roman Ratushnyi in Kyiv, Ukraine, on June 18, 2022.
(AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

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Nayev said Ukraine’s defenses have been prepared for both close-in and long-range attacks as Russia steps up its missile strikes away from the front lines in the east and south.

“I am sure that the enemy will not pass this direction again,” added Lt. Gen.