Ukraine warns of disinformation threat during Russia-Belarus drills

Ukraine’s State Border Service spokesperson Andrii Demchenko said this on Espreso TV.

“The threat from Belarus to Ukraine remains constant and will continue as long as the Lukashenko regime supports Russia in this war. Regarding the situation directly on the border: currently, we do not observe any unusual activity or troop concentrations on the Belarusian side. All Defense Forces units, including intelligence, are closely monitoring the scale of Russia’s participation in exercises on Belarusian territory,” said Demchenko.

He added that the current number of Russian troops and equipment in Belarus is small. For comparison, in 2023 Russia maintained up to 12,000 personnel under the guise of joint exercises, whereas now the presence is significantly reduced. At the same time, provocations or information campaigns aimed at forcing Ukraine to redeploy troops northward, weakening other frontlines, cannot be ruled out.

“We continue to strengthen our defenses, preparing for any challenges from Belarus. It is quite likely that during the exercises they will rotate forces, but in the information space, this will be presented as an increase in military presence.

We must assess the situation soberly to prevent panic and respond in time to potential threats and disinformation during the joint Russian-Belarusian exercises,” emphasized Demchenko.

• Earlier, Kyrylo Budanov, the Chief of Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate, warned that from September 12, when the large-scale Zapad-2025 military exercises begin in Belarus, strong information pressure can be expected.