The Belarusian Border Guard has issued a statement that it has records showing that a Ukrainian helicopter is flying through a snowy wooded area at a checkpoint. A spokesman for Ukraine’s border service said the claim was untrue, Reuters reported.
–
“A Ukrainian Mi-8 military helicopter at a height of about 100 meters crossed the state border and penetrated to a distance of about one kilometer in Belarus. The Ukrainian side was informed of this incident, “said in a statement from Minsk.
–
“As part of strengthening border protection with Belarus, the air force is being used to monitor the border. However, this did not disturb the state border in any way, “said Andriy Demchenko, a spokesman for the Ukrainian border service.
–
Relations between Belarus and Ukraine have deteriorated significantly since last year. At the time, Russia sided with President Alexander Lukashenko during mass street protests in Belarus, which later began to support Moscow against Ukraine.
–
Ukraine attributes to Belarus and Russia the triggering of a migration crisis on the European Union’s eastern borders with Belarus, which has left thousands stranded in freezing conditions in the border zone. Lukashenko denies staging the migration crisis. His government has promised an “asymmetrical” response to a new round of sanctions imposed on Minsk this week by the United States, the European Union, Britain and Canada.
–
Lukashenko also indicated that Belarus could side with Russia in a military conflict with Ukraine. The Crimean peninsula, which Russia annexed in 2014, is considered by Lukashenko to be Russian.
–
According to US intelligence, a possible offensive by Russian forces against Ukraine could start at the beginning of next year and would involve an estimated 175,000 soldiers. This is stated by the AP agency, which refers to an unnamed senior American representative. Moscow has rejected US media reports and accused Washington of trying to exacerbate the situation around Ukraine.
— .
:strip_icc()/s01.video.glbimg.com/x720/10101144.jpg?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1)
