Belarus builds railway for new military facility: what Ukrainian border guards say

Railway infrastructure capable of handling military trains is being built in Belarus's Gomel Oblast near the village of Yakimovka. Ukraine's State Border Guard Service says Belarus continues to expand its military infrastructure, but the situation near the border is currently calm.

Source: Radio Liberty; Colonel Andrii Demchenko, spokesperson for State Border Guard Service, in a comment to Ukrainska Pravda

Details: The construction is evidenced by design documentation obtained by the Belarusian Association of Railway Workers. It confirms that a separate railway infrastructure is being designed for a facility officially called "Construction of a training ground in Gomel Oblast".

The project lists the Military Design Institute as the customer. It includes a separate access track capable of accommodating up to 60 carriages and a freight platform with a ramp for unloading wheeled and rail-bound equipment.

Hovewer, the exact location of the new training ground is not yet known, Radio Liberty noted.

Demchenko stressed that Ukrainian intelligence is closely monitoring the situation in Belarus and that no troop formations are currently being detected near the border with Ukraine.

Quote from Demchenko: "As we can see, the threat from the territory of Belarus remains, and Belarus itself is actively contributing to it, given that Belarus continues to expand its military infrastructure along the border with Ukraine. Despite [self-proclaimed Belarusian president Alexander] Lukashenko repeatedly stating that he does not plan any aggressive actions towards Ukraine, he continues to expand military infrastructure along our border.

Recently, they once again announced the creation of a new airborne brigade, and the necessary military facilities are being developed for it.

The railway track being built is one of the facilities that could be used for military purposes, as could the training ground. In general, Belarus is expanding the number of sites where personnel can be stationed, as well as logistical routes. The formation of the brigade and the development of military infrastructure and logistics facilities for it do not happen quickly, but this work on the territory of Belarus is continuing.

Ukrainian intelligence units are, of course, monitoring this in order to assess the level of threat. But despite everything, as of now, no changes are being detected in the immediate vicinity of our border."

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