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Today, there is no threat that Russian or Belarusian troops would invade from Belarus, cut the Kyiv-Zhytomyr route or cut Western Ukraine off from the border. Oleksandr Musienko, head of the Center for Military and Legal Research, reported this in a comment to Lviv Now.

«Neither the Russians nor the Belarusians have any potential to carry out successful offensive actions, to encircle Kyiv, to reach Zhytomyr, Rivne or Lutsk. In addition, Ukrainian forces have built up quite strong forces on the Ukrainian-Belarusian border. There are units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the Military Police, and border guards. Roads and paths pass by. Therefore, it’s extremely difficult to do this. Even if the Belarusian army decided to do so with the support of some units of the Russian troops, I don’t think that the existing number would be enough to carry out such successful actions,» – he says.

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The expert added that currently, five thousand Belarusian servicemen are performing the task of covering the Belarusian-Ukrainian border and are constantly performing maneuvers along the entire border line.

«There is a certain number of Russian troops and units that cover their military facilities on the territory of Belarus. There is also Russian aviation and Russian air defense equipment. From Belarus, the most serious and powerful threat to Ukraine today is missile attacks. We need to be wary of missiles,» – he added.

Translated by Vitalii Holich

Follow us on and Instagram. Lviv Now is an English-language website for Lviv, Ukraine’s «tech-friendly cultural hub.» It is produced by Tvoe Misto («Your City») media-hub, which also hosts regular problem-solving public forums to benefit the city and its people.