Russia attacked the Yahodyn border crossing point in Volyn Region using repeaters that Belarus switches on along the border with Ukraine. They help Russian drones maintain a signal while flying deep into Ukrainian territory.
This was reported by State Border Guard Service spokesperson Andrii Demchenko in a comment to Ukrinform.
"Belarus is providing active assistance to Russia in shelling Ukraine’s territory. This includes repeaters that are switched on in Belarus, boosting the signal for Russian drones such as the Shahed and the Gerbera," Demchenko said.
He explained that when unmanned aerial vehicles enter from Russian territory, they can stay close to the border with Belarus, receive a signal from the repeaters and, thanks to this, penetrate deeper into Ukraine.
According to the State Border Guard Service spokesperson, this is how Russian forces attack, in particular, Ukraine’s western regions — Rivne, Lviv and Volyn. One such attack was the strike on the Yahodyn border crossing point on the Ukrainian-Polish border.
- At present, Ukraine is not recording any build-up in Belarus of a Russian or Belarusian strike grouping near the Ukrainian border that would be ready to invade. However, there is a possibility of an increase in sabotage groups in Chernihiv and Sumy regions.
- In June, President Zelenskyy said that Russian and Belarusian repeaters are deployed in Belarus and could be used to adjust drone attacks on Ukrainian territory. The head of state added that Lukashenko would need only a week to dismantle such infrastructure; otherwise, Ukraine could take action itself.
- At the end of June, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported that the repeaters in Belarus had stopped operating.