Zelensky: Russian relay stations in Belarus no longer being used to direct airstrikes

Russian relay stations deployed to Belarus for use by the Russian military to coordinate drone strikes on Ukraine have been taken out of service following a stark warning from Kyiv last week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Wednesday.

Though Zelensky admitted it was unclear whether the stations had been dismantled or were simply no longer being used, he said that they had been out of action since Monday, and that he was “monitoring the situation very closely and receiving reports every day”. The Belarusian authorities have not so far commented on Zelensky’s claim.

Last week, Zelensky said that at least four Russian relay stations had been transported to Belarus’s Brest and Homyel regions to direct fire at Ukraine, and issued an ultimatum to Minsk, giving the Belarusian authorities a week to shut the relay stations down before Ukrainian forces began targeting them.

Though Belarus is Russia’s closest ally and allowed Russia to use Belarusian territory as a staging ground from which to launch its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Lukashenko has in recent months toned down his rhetoric against the Ukrainian leader, appearing to adopt a more measured tone.

According to independent Belarusian media outlet Flagshtok, there have been no Russian drone strikes launched over the Belarus-Ukraine border since Monday, and it appears that Lukashenko, who is determined to keep Belarus from getting dragged into the war between its two neighbours, took Zelensky’s ultimatum seriously.

Reacting to Zelensky’s comments later on Monday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov announced that Vladimir Putin would be meeting with Lukashenko shortly to discuss the ultimatum, calling Zelensky’s demand “an encroachment on the sovereignty of another country.”

On Tuesday, Lukashenko urged residents of the Homyel region “not to worry or be alarmed” by Zelensky’s threats, adding: “We have everything we need to protect the population from any aggressor.”