Belarus has begun forming a new airborne assault brigade in the Gomel region, close to the border with Ukraine, according to Major General Alexander Illyukevich, commander of the Belarusian Special Operations Forces.
Speaking on the Belarusian Defense Ministry's television channel, Illyukevich said the brigade's officer corps has already been fully staffed, personnel have been recruited, and the first battalion has been formed. A second battalion, along with artillery, air defense, reconnaissance, and combat support units, is expected to be established within the next year.
The deployment comes amid heightened tensions between Minsk and Kyiv. Earlier, Belarusian Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Sekreta warned that Belarus would use its full military potential if its border were crossed in what it considered an act of aggression.
For his part, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has accused Belarus of expanding military infrastructure near the Ukrainian border, including ammunition depots, fuel storage facilities, and roads. He said Kyiv had sent signals to Minsk urging it to halt the construction of facilities that could be used to support military aggression.
The decision to form the new brigade follows recent statements by Belarusian defense officials that they saw no immediate military threat on the country's southern border. In late July, Defense Minister Viktor Khrenin told President Alexander Lukashenko that the military-political situation remained stable, NATO activity was minimal, and there was no evidence that Ukrainian forces were preparing offensive actions against Belarus, describing the main tensions as existing in the information sphere rather than on the ground.
