Russia tries to open new front against Ukraine from Belarus - Large number of forces are on border

A Ukrainian Armed Forces soldier, defender of Gorlovka with the call sign "Sheikh" Yevgeny Iyevlev answered the question in an interview for the YouTube channel "Fabrika Novostey" whether the Russian Federation can open a new front, based on the situation that is currently observed in Belarus. Let us recall that Lukashenko has pulled troops to the borders with Ukraine. "We really hoped that the Russians would see a decrease in the number of personnel they called up, but unfortunately, this is not happening in the Donbass in our direction, even despite the opening of the Kursk Front, " Ievlev said. " Therefore, it is very difficult to predict whether they can open something new. We have no idea at all what they have with their reserves." According to the military man, the covert mobilization in the Russian Federation has been going on and is still going on. The enemy has no personnel deficit, and based on this, anything can be expected from him. But from another point of view, which is supported by specific facts, the Russians are not in a very good situation with their personnel. In particular, they had to pull a certain number of reserves from the Zaporizhzhya direction. "I think that right now the probability of opening a new front or crossing the northern border by Russian troops is unlikely," the Ukrainian Armed Forces soldier noted. In addition, Ievlev emphasized that it is too early to assess the Russian offensive in Donbas. The situation with Pokrovsk and Mirnograd should be seen. "I really want to believe that this is the peak of their capabilities, and they are doing everything with their last breath," the serviceman said.

Belarus has been a key ally to Moscow and supported Russian aggression against Ukraine, though it has not committed its own troops directly to hostilities.

Russian forces launched an attempted invasion of Kyiv from Belarus in early 2022 but suffered a defeat and were forced to pull back.

Kyiv has not officially requested Belarus to withdraw its troops from the border, the Belarusian Foreign Ministry has said amid more tensions between the two states.

Minsk’s statement came after the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said that Belarus was “concentrating a significant number” of forces at the Belarus-Ukraine border.

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry also said that former Wagner Group mercenaries were present at the border with Ukraine, and warned Belarusian officials against “committing tragic mistakes under Moscow’s pressure.” The open-source monitoring project Belarusian Hajun reported that Belarus transferred around 1,000 troops to its border with Ukraine after Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko claimed his military had downed Ukrainian drones in Belarusian airspace. Belarusian Hajun instead linked the deployment to Ukraine’s ongoing incursion into Russia’s Kursk Oblast, where Kyiv’s forces claim to control around 1,200 square kilometers of Russian territory.