Lukashenko claims detention of "Ukrainian saboteurs" on border with Belarus. Ukraine responds

On February 16, self-proclaimed President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko announced the alleged detention of saboteurs with explosives at the border

Zerkalo reported the information.

"Just today several saboteurs were detained on the Ukrainian border. Using drones, some Ukrainian citizens crawled across the swamps to our border, smuggled explosives to commit sabotage, primarily in Russia and Belarus," Lukashenko said.

According to him, there were Belarusians among the detained saboteurs. He also noted that saboteurs are allegedly detained "two or three times a week."

The Belarusian leader also noted that he was shown a "quote from negotiations" of unnamed people with "individuals in the West," which allegedly stated that "Poland has the right to the western lands of Belarus, and in case of Russia's defeat, Belarus will grow at the expense of Russia's western lands."

"You see, we will be given Smolensk, Bryansk, and possibly Pskov regions. And we have to give western Belarus (the border line was marked near Minsk, as you may know) to Poland. This is what the new democratic government is negotiating in the West," Lukashenko said.

At the same time, Lukashenko emphasized that he does not need either Ukrainian or Russian lands.

Ukraine’s response

Ukraine’s State Border Guard Service (SBGS) spokesman Andriy Demchenko told LIGA.net that Lukashenko is playing along with Russia and creating the illusion for the domestic audience that "there is a threat from Ukraine."

"Lukashenko's absurdity is still going strong. I still remember his tons of weapons that they detained from Ukraine, and I remember even better where Russia's invasion came from," the SBGS spokesman said.