The representative of the Mozyr border detachment, Sergei Pavlov, said that after the incident with the violation of the state border by Ukraine, the Belarusian border guards would act extremely harshly if such scenarios were repeated.
“In the event of further violations of the state border, the Belarusian border guards will act extremely harshly,” BelTA quotes Pavlov as saying.
Earlier it became known that the Ukrainian Mi-8 helicopter violated the state border with Belarus during exercises near the Novaya Rudnya checkpoint.
“Today, December 4, at about 12:00, at the Belarusian-Ukrainian border near the Novaya Rudnya checkpoint, the Mozyr border guard detachment recorded a violation of the airspace of Belarus by Ukraine,” the State Border Committee of the republic said.
The ministry explained that the Ukrainian military helicopter crossed the border with Belarus at an altitude of about 100 m and flew deep into the Belarusian territory at a distance of up to 1 km.
Not long before that, the Polesie exercises were held in five regions of Ukraine bordering on Belarus to counter the penetration of illegal migrants.
In addition to border guards, the National Guard, the National Police, the State Migration Service, and employees of the Security Service of Ukraine took part in the maneuvers.
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As specified in the statement of the Ukrainian border service, the participants in the operation trained to contain numerous groups of border violators.
So, according to the legend of the exercises, about 100 potential violators were moving from the territory of Belarus in the direction of the Ukrainian checkpoint.
Due to the ensuing violation of the state border, a military attaché at the Ukrainian embassy in the republic was summoned to the Department of International Military Cooperation of the Ministry of Defense of Belarus.
“A note of protest was handed over in connection with the increasing violations by the Ukrainian side of the state border of the Republic of Belarus in the airspace,” the republic’s defense ministry said in a statement.
At the same time, the State Border Service of Ukraine denied information about the crossing of the airspace of Belarus by a Ukrainian helicopter.
“Information about the illegal crossing of the airspace of the Republic of Belarus by Ukrainian pilots is not true.
Such a situation was not recorded, "- UNN quotes the words of the press secretary of the State Border Service of Ukraine Andriy Demchenko.
He noted that Belarus did not inform the Ukrainian side of such an incident through official channels.
Commenting on the position of the Belarusian side in the incident with the helicopter, First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on CIS Affairs, Eurasian Integration and Relations with Compatriots Viktor Vodolatsky noted that any country takes the most stringent measures when violating the state border.
As the deputy suggested in an interview with RT, in the absence of a response, such provocations can be repeated, violating the security of the state.
"What happened on the territory of Belarus is a gross violation. If this happened on the territory of Poland or Germany, the helicopter would be instantly destroyed," the parliamentarian said in an interview with RT.
He also expressed the opinion that all statements from the Belarusian side are adequate, they do not violate any international conventions.
“The Belarusians treated the Ukrainian side humanely and so far made a warning.
But this is for now, ”concluded Vodolatsky.
In turn, Vladimir Olenchenko, senior researcher at the Center for European Studies at the IMEMO RAS, also said that he considers the reaction of the Belarusian side in the current circumstances to be logical and correct.
He suggested that the actions of the Ukrainian side are deliberate.
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“Most likely, it bears a probing character in the hope that the Belarusians will not attach much importance to this.
This is a well-known military technique in order to weaken attention and accustom to some kind of violations on their part, ”Olenchenko said in an interview with RT.
According to him, the reaction of Minsk should clearly indicate that the violation remains so in any case.
“The Belarusian side reserves the right to act adequately to the situation in the event of a repeated violation.
I see the full right of the Belarusians to defend their sovereignty, ”the expert believes.