Belarus accuses Ukrainian military of “violating the border”; Ukraine says no crossing took place

A joint special border operation, “Polissya,” is underway on the border with Belarus.

Belarus stated that on December 4, pilots of a Ukrainian Mi-8 military helicopter allegedly violated the state border and flew into Belarusian territory.

“Ukraine's conducting exercises on the border with the Republic of Belarus provoked the incident. Today, December 4, at about 12:00, the Mozyr border detachment recorded a violation of Belarusian airspace from Ukraine on the Belarusian-Ukrainian border in the area of the Novaya Rudnya checkpoint,” the State Border Committee of the Republic of Belarus said.

Belarusian officials claim that a Ukrainian Mi-8 military helicopter at an altitude of about 100 meters “crossed the state border and flew up to 1 km deep into Belarusian territory.”

It is noted that the Ukrainian side has been “informed about this incident.” The Belarusian State Border Committee also published video footage showing the helicopter's flyover.

Andriy Demchenko, assistant to the head of Ukraine's State Border Guard Service, said that Ukrainian forces are conducting exercises on the border with Belarus using aviation and drones, but they did not commit any violations of the state border.

Ukrainian border guards rejected the statements of the Belarusian State Border Committee. Demchenko noted that since November 23, a joint special border operation “Polissya” has been underway on the border with Belarus, within which aviation and drones are being used, but he emphasized that there was no fact of a border crossing into Belarus.

Andriy Demchenko
Assistant to the head of Ukraine's State Border Guard Service

Aviation is actively used in border protection and monitoring, however, the claim made today by the Belarusian side about a violation of airspace does not correspond to reality.

Recall that on December 1, the SBU published video of military exercises on the border with Belarus, where Ukrainian security forces practiced their response to a possible attempt to breach the Ukrainian border.

“Security forces practiced algorithms of joint actions in response to possible attempts at a “breakthrough” by illegal migrants into our state. To detect and record the relevant offenses, participants in the training operation used the latest technical means, including unmanned aerial vehicles. The activities were conducted under conditions as close to real as possible,” the agency reports.

The video shows a group of allegedly “migrants” trying to break through Ukraine's state border. To carry out the so-called breakthrough, they use improvised means and throw snow.

According to the exercise scenario, a group of saboteurs arrived in advance on Ukrainian territory to coordinate the actions of the migrants, while several groups of foreigners attempt to breach the border.

Law enforcement officers detected and detained the saboteurs in an abandoned building near the border and neutralized attempts by the “migrants” to move onto the country's territory. Security forces also carried out screening measures among the detained “offenders” to identify likely terrorists.

The Polissya special exercises involved units of the SBU, the National Police, the State Border Guard Service, the National Guard, as well as representatives of executive authorities and local self-government bodies.