Belarus Mobilizes, Russia Advances East, and Ukraine Issues Evacuation Orders
The Belarusian army announced today, Friday, the mobilization of its forces on the border with Ukraine in light of the Ukrainian incursion into Russia, which declared its control over a new strategic town, warning of a “spark igniting a world war.”
Belarusian Defense Minister Viktor Khrenin stated, “There is a high likelihood of armed provocation by neighboring Ukraine,” according to the official Belarusian news agency BelTA.
Khrenin ordered the strengthening of Belarusian forces along the Gomel and Mazyr axes in the southern part of the country, including special operations forces and Belarusian missile units that will leave their permanent deployment points and move to the areas assigned to reinforce.
The reinforcement of troops on Belarus’s southern border comes in light of Ukraine’s incursion into Russia’s Kursk region, while Moscow today announced its control over a town located about 15 kilometers from the strategic city of Pokrovsk in eastern Ukraine.
The Russian Defense Ministry stated via Telegram, “Thanks to the movements of units from the Central Group of Forces, the town of Sergeyevka has been liberated.” The ministry announced Thursday the control over another town in the same region.
According to Russian media today, security sources stated that Russian forces destroyed a Ukrainian reconnaissance and sabotage unit armed with weapons from NATO countries in the Kursk region of western Russia.
Earlier today, Russia confirmed it intercepted 12 American-made missiles launched by Ukrainian forces at the Crimean bridge, which connects Russia to the Ukrainian peninsula annexed by Moscow in 2014.
The Russian Defense Ministry stated via Telegram, “Air defense systems repelled an attack during the night involving 12 American-made ATACMS missiles launched towards the Crimean bridge.”
Ukrainian Evacuation
On the other side, military officials in the town of Pokrovsk in eastern Ukraine urged civilians today to expedite their evacuation from their homes as the Russian army rapidly approaches what has been one of Moscow’s primary targets in the war for months.
The call for immediate evacuation came as Kyiv’s forces attempt to shift the Kremlin’s military focus towards Russian territory by launching a bold incursion across the border into the Kursk region.
Evacuations in the Donetsk region around Pokrovsk have become increasingly urgent in recent weeks. Officials in Pokrovsk posted on Telegram today that Russian forces “are advancing at a rapid pace day by day, and the time available to gather personal belongings and leave for safer areas is diminishing.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned yesterday that Pokrovsk and other nearby cities in the Donetsk region “are facing the fiercest Russian attacks.” Zelensky stated on X, “Priority supplies and everything needed is being sent there.”
For its part, the Ukrainian Air Force announced today that it shot down all five drones launched by Russia during last night’s attack.
The Air Force’s statement on Telegram mentioned that Russian forces used three Iskander-M ballistic missiles in the attack and also employed three Shahed drones along with “two other drones of an unknown type.”
Earlier, Reuters reported that Russia resorted to using inexpensive drones for camouflage in some of its attacks on Ukraine, attempting to pinpoint air defenses. The governors of the Kyiv and Kirovohrad regions confirmed that there were no damages or casualties from the attack.
World War
The ongoing battlefield confrontations have coincided with Russian political declarations accusing the United States and NATO of being involved in the Ukrainian attack on Kursk.
Nikolai Patrushev, an aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin, stated today that the US-led military alliance and the West are directly involved in planning Ukraine’s attack on Russia’s Kursk region.
Patrushev expressed in an interview with the Russian newspaper Izvestia that US statements about not being involved in the attack are “incorrect,” and without its direct participation and support, Kyiv would not have dared to enter Russian territory.
The newspaper quoted him saying, “The operation in the Kursk region was planned with participation from NATO and Western intelligence.”
Russian parliamentary deputy Mikhail Sheremet stated that the Western-supported Ukrainian incursion into Russia “places the world on the brink of a total world war.”
Russian media reported the deputy saying, “Considering the presence of Western military equipment used with Western ammunition and missiles in attacks on civilian infrastructure, as well as compelling evidence of foreigners’ involvement in the attack on Russian territory, we can conclude that the world is on the brink of World War III.”
Sheremet, a member of the Russian parliament’s defense committee, added that NATO countries have given the green light to execute incursion plans, a charge denied by the United States.
While Ukraine and its allies allege that Russia is receiving support for its war efforts from China, Iran, and North Korea, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un reaffirmed today his commitment to enhancing cooperation with Russia, expressing confidence that Moscow will triumph in its “sacred war for peace and justice.”
Russia has been fighting Ukrainian forces in Kursk since August 6 following a sudden incursion executed by Kyiv forces in the largest attack on Russian sovereign territory since World War II. Since then, significant advancements have forced Moscow to evacuate more than 200,000 people from their homes.
