Sybiha urges West to watch mobilisation drills in Belarus closely

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha has urged the international community to remain vigilant in light of the "mobilisation exercises" currently being held in Belarus's Grodno Oblast.

Sybiha noted that the enlistment office in the Ashmyany district is calling up around 2,000 conscripts between 20 June and 2 July and setting up preliminary assembly points.

Although officially classified as a routine data check, these actions are a "tactic of intimidation toward neighbouring states", Sybiha said.

"The Belarusian leadership shows no intent to de-escalate. Instead, Minsk is increasing its military presence near the borders of Ukraine and NATO countries. This strategy aligns with Kremlin interests, using political blackmail that directly contradicts the Belarusian leadership's public statements regarding peace," Sybiha wrote on X.

Sybiha added that Ukraine continues to monitor Belarus's actions closely, reiterates its warnings to Minsk against deepening its involvement in Russian aggression, and calls on the international community to increase pressure on Alexander Lukashenko's regime.

On 19 June, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy insisted that Belarus must dismantle signal relay equipment used to guide Russian drone strikes against Ukrainian cities.

Zelenskyy later said that Ukraine is aware of four such signal repeaters that have been installed in Belarus' Homiel (Gomel) and Brest oblasts. He gave Belarusian ruler Alexander Lukashenko one week to remove them, otherwise Ukraine will do it itself.