Chief of the General Staff says forces exchanged information with Polish, Lithuanian counterparts on air, radar situation in region
Belarus on Wednesday said it shot down drones that went astray during overnight Russian and Ukrainian attacks.
Chief of the General Staff Pavel Muraveiko, in a video statement shared by the Defense Ministry, said its forces continuously tracked drones that went astray due to the use of electronic warfare.
“Some of the lost drones were destroyed by our country's Air Defense Forces over the territory of the republic,” Muraveiko said, without specifying the number of drones.
Muraveiko said Belarusian forces on duty exchanged information on the air and radar situation in the region with their Polish and Lithuanian counterparts.
He said the exchanges alerted the two countries of unidentified objects approaching their own respective airspace, and allowed Poland, in particular, to respond to the incident by scrambling its aircraft.
“In fairness, it should be noted that the Polish side also informed the Belarusian forces on duty about the approach of unidentified aircraft from the territory of Ukraine to the border of the Republic of Belarus,” Muraveiko added.
He defined the exchange of information on the aerial situation as an “important component of ensuring security in the region as a whole and contributes to building confidence and strengthening security.”
“The Republic of Belarus will continue to fulfil its obligations within the framework of the exchange of information on the air situation with the Republic of Poland and the Baltic countries,” he added.
Muraveiko’s remarks came as both Russia and Ukraine exchanged claims about overnight strikes. Moscow claimed intercepting 122 Ukrainian drones, while Kyiv claimed downing 386 Russian drones and 27 missiles.
Separately, the Polish Armed Forces Operational Command said fighter jets belonging to Poland and its allies were scrambled as “drone-type objects repeatedly” violated its airspace overnight.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy claimed that “around two dozen of Russian drones” may have entered Polish airspace, while Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk said authorities recorded at least 19 violations of airspace.
