MINSK, August 18 Minsk has increased the forces of the Air Force and Air Defense Forces deployed to carry out duty on the border with Ukraine, said the commander of the Air Force and Air Defense Forces of the Armed Forces of Belarus Andrei Lukyanovich in an interview with the STV TV channel.
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"We confirm that combat orders have been received in our branch of the Armed Forces, the group has already been strengthened. This concerns aviation, anti-aircraft missile forces, and radio-technical troops. «That is, the group has been significantly increased, and at the moment they are on duty at the southern borders of our country,» he said.
This is how the military leader answered a question about the increase in the group of forces on the border with Ukraine after the incident with the violation of Belarusian airspace by Ukrainian Armed Forces drones.
Last week, President Alexander Lukashenko reported that about ten attack drones violated the republic's border from the Ukrainian side. Several targets were shot down, the remaining UAVs were «handed over» to Russia for support, since the two countries have a common air defense system. Lukashenko added that, according to information from the Russian military, the remaining drones were destroyed in the Yaroslavl region.
The Belarusian leader called the incident a provocation, noting that such actions will not go unanswered. Defense Minister Viktor Khrenin reported that Lukashenko gave instructions to strengthen the troop grouping in the Gomel and Mozyr tactical directions in the south of the republic, where it borders Ukraine.