In Belarus, since the beginning of the year, the inventory, repair, and modernization of bomb shelters have intensified, reported the BELPOL project. It is stated that these inspections are taking place in a “specific military and political context.”
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Inspections of the condition of civil defense protective structures carried out from February to April resulted in 66 orders to eliminate violations. Administrative responsibility was applied to 11 officials, and reports were filed against 20 facilities for improper maintenance.
According to BELPOL data, 43 bomb shelters have been restored since the beginning of the year.
Inspections and modernization of protective structures are ongoing alongside mobilization measures and military exercises. In June, the Belarusian Ministry of Defense held exercises in the Grodno region, which borders Poland and Lithuania. During the exercises, citizen and transport mobilization was practiced, and data on several thousand conscripts were checked.
Putin increased pressure on Lukashenko
Since the beginning of 2026, Russian President Vladimir Putin has increased pressure on Aliaksandr Lukashenko. According to sources from the newspaper “Wall Street Journal” (WSJ), Putin aims for Minsk to actively participate in the war against Ukraine – Moscow wants to use Belarusian territory for drone strikes against Ukraine and open a new front. If Minsk refuses, the Kremlin threatens to reduce financial support, WSJ wrote.
Concerns about possible Belarusian involvement in the war were previously expressed by French President Emmanuel Macron and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
In May, Macron held a phone conversation with Lukashenko and warned him about the consequences of possible Belarusian participation in the war.
Zelensky also stated that Kyiv has information about Moscow and Minsk negotiations on possible military cooperation expansion. Later, he demanded the removal of Russian relay stations in Belarusian territory, which are used to coordinate drone strikes.
Zelensky spoke about a new fight against relay stations in Belarus
In an interview with the portal “Zerkalo” in February, Zelensky said he sees a new format of Belarus-Russia relations, where Belarus precisely knows what is happening on its territory.
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“And it can no longer be said, as Lukashenko told me at the start of the large-scale invasion, that rockets [to Ukraine] fly, but they ‘have long been there, we do not control it, we do not control the launch.’ Now drone relay stations have appeared on Belarusian territory, and this new equipment there now helps Russian ‘Shaheds’ strike our people, civilians, and the energy sector, because using those relay stations, the strikes are directed (editor’s note),” Zelensky said.
Asked whether Ukraine considers the relay stations a legitimate military target, Zelensky was open:
“I will not say how, but our guys made sure that three or four relay stations no longer operate on Belarusian territory. We simply have no other choice; otherwise, attacks on our land will continue. And flights from this direction now, I want to tell you, are much fewer,” said the Ukrainian president.
Strict warning to Lukashenko
On June 19, Ukrainian President Zelensky warned that Lukashenko has one week to remove Russian relay devices from his territory. It was mentioned that such systems are in two Belarusian regions bordering Ukraine.
Later, Zelensky stated that from June 22, the relay stations in Belarusian territory stopped operating. In a conversation with journalists, the Ukrainian president explained that at that time he did not know whether the systems were dismantled, but at that time the relay stations were not functioning.
On Wednesday, Ukrainian Defense Minister’s advisor Serhiy Beskrestnov-Flesh stated that the possibility that relay stations in Belarus are sometimes used for attacks against Ukraine cannot be ruled out.
According to him, at 7:11 a.m. on Wednesday, a remotely controlled “Shahed” rocket attacked a gas station in Malyn, Zhytomyr region. As the specialist notes, based on data from Ukrainian radar stations, the “Shahed” flew along the border with Belarus, reached Korosten directly over the highway, then turned around and flew directly over the railway towards Malyn, where it attacked the gas station.
“Such behavior is typical for a manually controlled drone via camera. The distance from the attack site to the Russian borders is 260 kilometers. This is too far for a direct radio channel to work. There were no other ‘Shaheds’ (possible relay stations) in the air at that time. Final conclusions will be made by the relevant services and units after thoroughly examining the situation,” Flesh noted.
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