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Belarusian defense minister warns provocations by Kiev highly probable

Viktor Khrenin pointed out that Ukraine was constantly conducting reconnaissance with unmanned aerial vehicles

MINSK, August 16. /TASS/. The probability of armed provocations by Kiev on the Belarusian-Ukrainian border remains high, Belarusian Defense Minister Viktor Khrenin said at a meeting on military security issues with President Alexander Lukashenko.

"Given the presence of Ukrainian armed groups in the border areas, there is a great probability of armed provocations on our territory, as well as high-profile actions, including those with the involvement of Belarusian nationalist groups," the BelTA news agency quotes Khrenin as saying.

He pointed out that Ukraine was constantly conducting reconnaissance with unmanned aerial vehicles. Attempts to violate the airspace of Belarus were frequent.

"The situation in the southern theater remains tense. Ukrainian military forces and border guards continue to reinforce the border protection system and multi-tiered defense. At all sites along the state border of Belarus intensive activity by Ukraine’s units of special operations forces and the Security Service is observed," Khrenin said.

On August 10, the Belarussian president said drones flying from Ukraine towards Russia over the country's territory a day earlier had been destroyed. The Belarusian leader ordered to strengthen forces on the border with Ukraine in the Gomel and Mozyr areas. The defense minister said that units of the Special Operations Forces, ground troops, missile troops, including Polonez rocket systems and Iskander missile systems, had been ordered to move to the designated areas. The forces and means of anti-aircraft missile forces, radio-technical units and aviation have also been built up. Khrenin noted that the decision to build up troop groups had been made in the light of the situation in Ukraine and Russia’s Kursk Region.