President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday that Russia is using residential buildings in Belarus to help direct drone attacks on Ukraine, allowing Moscow to bypass Kyiv’s air defenses.
Belarus served as a key launchpad for Russia’s full scale invasion in February 2022 and remains one of Moscow’s closest allies. President Alexander Lukashenko has repeatedly insisted he will not send Belarusian troops into the war, but Zelensky said Minsk is already deeply entangled.
He wrote on Telegram that Russia is attempting to evade Ukrainian interceptor systems by operating through Belarusian territory, calling the tactic risky for Belarus itself. Zelensky said it was unfortunate that Belarus was surrendering its sovereignty to support Russia’s military ambitions.
According to Ukrainian intelligence, Belarus has allowed equipment to be placed in border settlements, including on the rooftops of ordinary five story apartment buildings. Zelensky said antennae and other devices installed there help guide Russian Shahed drones toward targets in Ukraine’s western regions. He condemned the practice as a blatant disregard for civilian safety and urged Minsk to stop enabling such operations.
The defense ministries of Russia and Belarus did not immediately comment.
Zelensky said his military staff also discussed funding for interceptor drones, which Kyiv views as the most cost effective way to counter Russia’s escalating drone attacks. He added that Ukraine’s general staff has been tasked with updating air defense strategy to better protect infrastructure and frontline positions.
Earlier this month, Lukashenko announced that Russia’s Oreshnik ballistic missile system, described by Vladimir Putin as impossible to intercept, had been deployed in Belarus and placed on active combat duty.
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