Ukraine’s border guards doubling as navy items on Belarus frontier

Belarus is conducting navy workouts with 4,000 troops by the border, says Ukraine’s Ministry of Protection and Russian strategic bombers have fired missiles from Belarusian airspace at targets inside Ukraine, together with the capital Kyiv.

CGTN’s Michael Voss has been given entry to Ukrainian border guards alongside the frontier with Belarus within the Chernihiv area.

Driving with Ukraine’s border guards

A Ukrainian border guard patrols the southern financial institution of the Dnipro river. This closely forested area marks the border with Belarus, the place Russia’s ally is claimed to be massing troops.

Again in February, nice columns of Russian tanks compelled their means throughout the border, heading for the capital Kyiv.

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On their means, they attacked and shelled the area’s main metropolis Chernihiv however didn’t seize it. The scars of ruined buildings nonetheless stand as testimony to the failed assault.

Now there’s razor wire by way of the forests all alongside the border.

After driving on again roads out of Chernihiv for about an hour, I met Main Artem Lazutin, deputy commander of the area’s border guards. His life has radically modified in only a few months.

“We’re not classical border guards,” he explains. “Earlier than we merely checked individuals, automobiles and vehicles at a border crossing checkpoint on the street. Then when the warfare began, the border guards grew to become navy items.”

The foremost then took me previous the razor wire to the next place near the place the outdated border crossing was.

There’s now a big hole the place one of many most important bridges connecting the 2 nations as soon as stood. Lazutin mentioned they blew it as much as forestall the Russians from utilizing it.

“On February 24, we have been attacked by enemy drones. Then we took up hearth positions together with the Armed Forces to stop an enemy breakthrough. After that, we determined to explode this bridge in addition to a railway bridge close to right here.” Lazutin mentioned.

Ukraine protection officers imagine that Belarus has moved seven battalions nearer to the border. They do not assume Belarus is about to invade although they can not rule that out.

What the Ukrainians do suspect is that they’re making an attempt to stop Ukraine from sending reinforcements to the east, the place the heaving combating is.

At a gathering in St Petersburg over the weekend, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin supplied to offer his shut ally Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko with ballistic missile methods and improve his air power.

In the meantime, Lukashenko has introduced a recruitment drive for a further 20,000 troops.

It prompted Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to ship a video message to Belarus urging its individuals to not get entangled.

“You might be being drawn right into a warfare. The Kremlin has already determined all the pieces for you –your lives are price nothing to them. However you aren’t slaves or cannon fodder. You should not have to die.” Zelenskyy mentioned in his video deal with.

Again on the border, 20-year-old Andriy, he requested to not give his surname, continues his each day lookout looking together with his binoculars for any indicators of navy actions within the forests throughout the river.

“On a regular basis is like this, we observe the scenario on the border all day, defend it and stop an enemy breakthrough. Everyone seems to be afraid. Solely silly individuals aren’t afraid. I attempt to maintain my worry in my arms,” Andriy mentioned.

Main Lazutin says the border guards, together with the navy, are able to repel any new invasion. However he hopes that with continued western help, he can return to his outdated day job, as a easy border guard, earlier than too lengthy.