On April 17, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that intelligence reports had discovered more new routes and artillery positions being established on Belarusian territory, near the border with Ukraine.
According to Mr. Zelensky, these moves may show that Russia is seeking to increase Belarus's role in the current conflict. He believes that Moscow may continue to put pressure on Minsk to participate more deeply militarily.
Kyiv's concern stems from Belarus's role in the early stages of the 2022 conflict. At that time, Belarus allowed Russian troops to use its territory to move forces, launch missiles and deploy drone attacks on Ukraine. The direction of attack towards Russia's capital Kiev was also deployed from Belarusian territory at that time.
Although no more large-scale cross-border attacks have been recorded since 2022, northern Ukraine is still placed on high alert.
In December 2025, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko confirmed that Russia's Oreshnik ballistic missile system had been deployed on Belarusian territory and put into combat readiness.
After that, Mr. Zelensky said that Ukraine had identified the location of this system and shared information with Western allies. According to the Ukrainian side, the range of Oreshnik could reach not only Ukrainian territory but also Poland and Germany.
