Belarus Dispersed Special Operations Forces Along Border With Ukraine — Lukashenko

Belarusian ruler Alexander Lukashenko claimed that he had ordered the dispersal of Special Operations Forces (SOF) units along the border with Ukraine.

He made the statement during a government meeting, a video excerpt of which was published by the Telegram channel Pul Pervogo.

According to Lukashenko, the SOF units were deployed along the southern border allegedly to ensure security rather than to prepare for offensive operations.

During the meeting, he also proposed sending citizens who violate what he described as labor discipline to the army.

According to Lukashenko, after a short period of training, they could be assigned to SOF units deployed near the border with Ukraine.

Lukashenko said that everyone who could not work should be sent to the army and to the southern border, adding that Special Operations Forces had been dispersed along the Ukrainian border on his orders.

He also said that, in his view, the same approach should be applied to officials who fail to perform assigned tasks.

Lukashenko’s statement came amid increased Belarusian military activity near the border with Ukraine, including the construction of road infrastructure, ammunition storage sites and fuel storage facilities.

This is not the first deployment of Belarusian SOF units near the Ukrainian border during the full-scale war.

For example, in February 2024, Belarus introduced a counterterrorism operation regime along the border with Ukraine and deployed Special Operations Forces units there.

In August of the same year, the Belaruski Hayun monitoring group reported that Belarusian special operations forces remained deployed near the Ukrainian border. The total number of personnel was estimated at 400-500.

Last year, the commander of the Belarusian Special Operations Forces announced the formation of a new air assault brigade that will be deployed along the border with Ukraine.