Belarus says intercepted alleged Ukraine combat drones in its airspace
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The Belarusian Defense Minister announces that President Aleksandr Lukashenko has ordered bolstering military presence in the southern regions bordering Ukraine.
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This handout photograph taken and released by the Government of the Kursk region of Russia on August 9, 2024, shows women and children being evacuated from the town of Rylsk in the Kursk region. (AFP)
Belarus intercepted several combat drones believed to be Ukrainian over its territory, while some of them were destroyed by Russian forces in Russian airspace, Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko confirmed on Saturday.
"At 18:10 yesterday the Belarusian Air Forces were put on high alert. We call it number one readiness," Lukashenko was quoted as saying by Belarusian news agency BelTA.
He pointed out that "the fact is that (we suspect that this is not the first time) the Armed Forces of Ukraine have violated all rules of behavior and have incurred into Belarus’ airspace."
The country's air defense forces were put on "full alert" to intercept the targets, he added.
Belarusian Defense Minister Viktor Khrenin announced that Lukashenko has ordered the Ministry to bolster its military presence in the southern regions bordering Ukraine.
The Minister indicated that special operations units and missile complexes have been sent to the Gomel and Mozyr tactical directions.
"Military units of special operations forces, ground forces, missile forces, including Polonez missile systems and Iskander complexes, have received tasks to march to the designated areas," he said.
Khrenin explained that the decision was taken following reports of fighting in the western Russian region of Kursk, affirming that the Belarusian military is closely watching the situation unfolding in the region and Ukraine and is ready to react.
Moreover, Maj. Gen. Valery Revenko, the assistant to the Belarusian Defense Minister for foreign military policy, emphasized that the flight of Ukrainian drones over Belarus toward Russia could have been aimed at involving Minsk in the conflict.
"Our air border was violated by [Ukraine]. After the decision to withdraw [Belarusian] Armed Forces from [the Ukrainian] border in July 2024, these actions can be seen as provocation and attempt to involve [Belarus] in the conflict," Revenko said.
Minsk summons Ukrainian charge d'affaires
On its part, the Belarusian Foreign Ministry announced that the Ukrainian chargé d'affaires in Belarus was summoned to the Ministry on Saturday and handed a note of protest over this week's border violation by Ukrainian drones.
"The Belarusian side lodged a strong protest and handed the Note to the Ukrainian diplomat in connection with the violation of the border of the Republic of Belarus by a group of unmanned aerial vehicles launched from the territory of Ukraine," the Ministry said in a statement earlier today.
Belarus demanded that comprehensive measures be taken to avoid similar incidents in the future, which could lead to further escalation of the situation in the region, the statement read.
The Ukrainian diplomat was warned that "in the event of a repetition of such provocations, the Belarusian side reserved the right to take retaliatory steps to protect its territory."
"It was particularly pointed out that if the Ukrainian diplomatic mission in Belarus was unable to influence the prevention of such provocations, the Belarusian side would question the necessity of its continued presence in Minsk," the Ministry stressed.
Additionally, the Belarusian Foreign Ministry highlighted that the Ukrainian provocation with the overflight of drones over the territory of Belarus could have been carried out at the instigation of external actors, calling on the parties to come to their senses and "put a stop to this."
"These criminal actions radically escalate the situation and represent a dangerous attempt to expand the zone of the current conflict in our region," the Ministry affirmed.
It said that "at the same time, attempts are being made to involve Belarus, which has always been in favour of resolving the crisis and stopping the bloodshed."
Belarus has also conveyed the information on the incident to all the relevant structures of the United Nations and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, as well as other international organizations and associations of which it is a member, Minsk confirmed.
"It goes without saying" that the republic will also fully exercise its right to self-defense, the Belarusian Foreign Ministry asserted.
Ukraine lost up to 175 troops in Kursk over 24 hours: Russian MoD
In the same context, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Saturday that Ukraine lost up to 175 military personnel and 36 pieces of hardware, including 10 tanks and a Grad multiple rocket launcher system (MLRS), in 24 hours in the Kursk direction.
"Over the past 24, [Ukrainian] losses have amounted to up to 175 Ukrainian troops and 36 units of hardware, including 10 tanks, three armoured personnel carriers, two infantry fighting vehicles, 21 armoured fighting vehicles, one motor vehicle, three field artillery guns, and one BM-21 Grad MLRS combat vehicle," the Ministry announced in a statement.
It added that Russian forces, including the North group of forces and reserves, continue to repel attacks from Ukraine.
"Since the beginning of hostilities in Kursk region, [Ukrainian] losses amounted to up to 1,120 Ukrainian troops, 140 units of hardware, including 22 tanks, 20 armoured personnel carriers, eight infantry fighting vehicles, 88 armoured fighting vehicles, 13 motor vehicles, two Buk-M1 self-propelled SAM systems, one BM-21 Grad MLRS combat vehicle, and six field artillery guns," the Ministry confirmed.
Up to 15 Ukrainian troops were destroyed in a thermobaric missile strike on the outskirts of the city of Sudzha, Moscow said, adding that Su-30SM and Su-35S fighter jets hit an accumulation of Ukrainian personnel and military equipment in the border area of the Kursk region overnight using bombs with universal planning and correction modules.
On Tuesday, the Russian Defense Ministry confirmed that Ukrainian forces had launched an offensive to seize the Kursk region.
Russian General Staff Chief Valery Gerasimov said the advance deep into Russian territory had been halted, while President Vladimir Putin accused Kiev of a large-scale provocation.
"More than 76,000 people have been temporarily relocated to safe places," Russia's state-run TASS news agency quoted an official from the regional emergency situations ministry as saying at a press briefing on Saturday.
According to the official, emergency aid has been delivered to the border area, and additional trains to the capital, Moscow, have been arranged for those fleeing the conflict.
Read more: 'Massive' drone attack targets military airfield 330km inside Russia
Ukrainian actions in Kursk pose risk to entire atomic energy industry
In connection with the Ukrainian offensive, Rosatom CEO Alexei Likhachev warned that the actions of the Ukrainian armed forces in the Russian region of Kursk, home to the Kursk nuclear power plant, pose a threat to the nuclear site and the global atomic industry.
The Russian Atomic Energy Corporation stated that Likhachev called the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, to discuss the situation at the Kursk power plant.
Grossi stressed the importance of adhering to nuclear security principles and ensuring the physical integrity of the nuclear facility, Rosatom said.
The Russian nuclear agency pointed out that debris from intercepted Ukrainian missiles was found at the nuclear plant on Thursday, noting that missile fragments fell near the radioactive waste processing site.
The IAEA chief promised to continue monitoring the situation at the Kursk power plant and inform the world community of the developments, Rosatom added.
Read more: Russia launches 'counterterror' operations in Kursk and nearby regions
