There is a risk, but it should not be overestimated. The Minister of Defense on the possibility of a second offensive from Belarus

The Minister of Defense of Ukraine Oleksiy Reznikov commented on the statement of one of the leaders of the Belarusian opposition that Lukashenko is preparing to enter the war against Ukraine.

"There is always danger, because the enemyʼs border stretches for 2.5 thousand km — it is Belarus, Russia and temporarily occupied territories. But the real front line, where the battles are fought, is 1,300 km. The border with Belarus reaches 1,200 km, so the risk from the north remains," Reznikov noted in a joint commentary for "Babel" and "Hromadsky".

During the first invasion, the minister continued, there were very few Belarusians among the Russian army, perhaps only a few units.

"That is, there is no information that serious formations from Belarus took part in the war before. At the moment, propaganda there has less momentum than in Russia, so it is difficult for me to imagine what should motivate the Belarusians to join this war now," added Reznikov.

According to him, it is also possible that the Belarusian officers who took the oath after crossing the Ukrainian border will lay down their arms with the words "Belarusians are your siabry, not your enemies."

"There is a risk, but I would not overestimate it. We are ready for anything. Lukashenko is looking for a balance, on the one hand, he has to show political anschluss with the Russian Federation, and on the other hand, he feels that this could be his final end," Reznikov summarized.

• Pavlo Latushko, one of the leaders of the Belarusian opposition, the deputy head of the United Transitional Cabinet of Belarus, said that the self-proclaimed President Lukashenko is preparing to go to war against Ukraine. According to him, Lukashenko [and the Russian Federation] agreed to deploy 120,000 Russian soldiers [in Belarus] during November-February. Belarus undertakes to provide an additional 100,000 mobilized soldiers.