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Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha has called on the international community to remain vigilant amid Belarusian “mobilization drills” taking place in the country’s Grodno region near the borders of Ukraine and NATO member states, UATV English reports.
In a statement posted on X on June 24, Sybiha said that from June 20 to July 2, military authorities in Belarus’s Oshmyany district are notifying around 2,000 reservists and setting up preliminary assembly points.
“Although these activities are officially described as a routine data verification exercise, they serve as a tactic of intimidation against neighboring states,” Sybiha wrote.
The foreign minister argued that Belarusian authorities are showing no signs of de-escalation and are instead increasing their military activity near the borders of Ukraine and NATO countries.
According to Sybiha, the moves align with the Kremlin’s broader strategy of political pressure and intimidation and contradict Minsk’s public claims of seeking peace.
“Ukraine continues to closely monitor Belarus’s actions, reiterates its warnings to Minsk against deeper involvement in Russia’s aggression, and calls on the international community to increase pressure on the Lukashenko regime,” he said.
Sybiha’s comments come amid growing concerns about Belarus’s role in supporting Russia’s war effort and reports that Moscow may be seeking to draw Minsk more directly into the conflict.
Earlier, the U.S.-based Institute for the Study of War warned that Russia could attempt to use the Union State collective security framework to involve Belarus more deeply in the war against Ukraine and potentially access Belarusian manpower and military training resources.
At the same time, Ukrainian officials have stressed that there are currently no signs of an imminent threat from Belarus. On June 24, State Border Guard Service spokesperson Andrii Demchenko said there is no strike force assembled along the Belarusian border that appears ready to launch an invasion of Ukraine.
