Commander of Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces Robert Brovdi said the military has already identified "500 potential targets" in Belarus as he warned Aliaksandr Lukashenka against Minsk’s deeper involvement in Russia’s war against Ukraine.
“The first 500 targets have already been identified. Free and very practical advice: do not stick in Ukraine's craw,” Brovdi said in a Facebook post on Tuesday.
Brovdi, whose military call sign is “Magyar” also responded to threats from Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who said on Monday that Russia is planning "systematic strikes on targets in Kyiv”.
Brovdi pointed out that nine out of the 13 Russian oil refineries stopped operating after attacks by Ukrainian drones and the forces led by “Magyar”.
Belarus’ role in Russia’s war
There is a growing concern in Ukraine that Belarus may be pulled deeper into Russia's full-scale war.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with the exiled leader of Belarus’ opposition Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya in Kyiv on Tuesday, mere days after Lukashenka suggested a meeting with Zelenskyy.
“Lukashenka said that it is time for the presidents of Ukraine and Belarus to meet and then Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya has arrived,” Zelenskyy said, openly mocking Lukashenka’s proposal to meet him in Kyiv or Minsk.
"We value every expression of support from Belarusians for a free Ukraine, and we know that the day will come when good-neighbourly relations between our states are restored on the basis of the genuine independence of both Ukraine and Belarus from Moscow," Zelenskyy said.
"Ukraine has never been a threat to Belarus," he pointed out.
"And we are grateful to those Belarusians who stand with Ukraine now, at a time when the fate of both our independence and the independence of every nation bordering Russia is being decided."
Last week Ukraine’s president said that Kyiv is prepared to take "preventive" measures against Moscow and the Belarusian leadership over potential military threats to northern Ukraine, amid a Russia-Belarus nuclear exercise and the consequent tensions with European NATO members, sparked by drone incursions in the Baltic.
"The de facto leadership of Belarus" must "stay on its toes, that is, clearly understand that there will be consequences if aggressive actions against Ukraine, against our people, are taken," Zelenskyy said as he visited Slavutych, a city some 50 kilometres from the Belarusian border.
Earlier in April Zelenskyy also said that based on Ukraine’s military reports, Belarus is building roads towards the Ukrainian border and setting up artillery positions near Ukraine.
