Concerns over a Russian spring offensive are causing tensions to rise at the Belarus-Ukraine border.

While the Kremlin intensifies its military attacks, tensions are rising across the border between Ukraine and Belarus, a country allied with Moscow, as Kyiv officials warn of a Russian spring invasion.

A CNN team visited Belarus’ southwest border near northwest Ukraine, accompanied by state border officials, in a rare opportunity since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year.

A 1,000-kilometer border separates Ukraine from Belarus, which has been instrumental in facilitating Russia’s onslaught.

In a carefully planned and tightly supervised press tour, CNN’s Frederik Pleitgen and his team observed the Belarusian government’s fortification of the border area with barbed wire from a distance of 100 meters from the Ukrainian side.

The border on the Ukrainian side is severely fortified, according to the CNN team on the ground, with multiple tiers of barbed wire and earth mounds to prevent anyone from crossing.

Officials from Belarus informed CNN that although the Ukrainian side has stopped the border crossing, it is still open from their side of the border in the little town of Dyvin.

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On February 15, 2023, a Belarusian border guard keeps watch and stands behind a truck tire roadblock at the Divin border crossing between Belarus and Ukraine in the Brest region.
On February 15, 2023, a Belarusian border guard keeps watch and stands behind a truck tire roadblock at the Divin border crossing between Belarus and Ukraine in the Brest region.
Photographs by Natalia Kolesnikova/AFP/Getty
Out of worry that Belarus would be used as a staging ground for another Russian invasion, Kyiv has closed all border crossings with Belarus, with the exception of the odd opening for Ukrainian refugees seeking to return home.

A red and white flag connected with the Belarusian opposition was also visible on the Ukrainian side of the border crossing, which Belarusian authorities described as a “provocation.”

In 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine using the territory of Belarus as one of its launch bases. Concerns that Belarusian troops might join Russia’s forces in Ukraine have increased as a result of joint military exercises between Belarus and Russia over the past year.

A 1,000-kilometer border separates Ukraine from Belarus, which has been instrumental in facilitating Russia’s onslaught.
A 1,000-kilometer border separates Ukraine from Belarus, which has been instrumental in facilitating Russia’s onslaught.
CNN/Frederik Pleitgen

On February 15, 2023, a sign near the Divin border crossing between Belarus and Ukraine reads “Bon Voyage.”
On February 15, 2023, a sign near the Divin border crossing between Belarus and Ukraine reads “Bon Voyage.”
Photographs by Natalia Kolesnikova/AFP/Getty
A representative for the Belarus State Border Committee, Anton Bychkovski, described the situation at the border as “tight,” with repeated provocations coming from Ukrainian armed units.

From the Belarusian border town of Dyvin, he stated, “Mainly, there are attempts to reconnoiter the land of Belarus with the aid of drones.

“Last year, we recorded more than 400 instances of these efforts. Drones flown by Ukrainian soldiers occasionally violated airspace as they traveled near Belarus’ border. We can block such reconnaissance methods thanks to the technical tools at our disposal. Such drones frequently have to land in Belarus, he continued.

He said that the armament and equipment of the Belarusian border guard forces had been modernized and extended.

According to their intelligence, “there are about 17000 personnel of the military formations of the territorial defense of Ukraine at the territory of the Ukrainian border regions, which cause some issues for security of the border of Belarus,” he stated.

The two-week joint air force exercise between Belarus and Russia, which took place from January 16 to February 1, was stated to have ended earlier this month by the Belarusian military ministry.

In a separate announcement, the ministry noted the beginning of a week of cooperative military exercises with Russia for the combined command of their respective regional force groups. The ministry declared that it is getting ready for the joint Union Shield 2023 drills that the two nations would conduct in Russia in September.

Alexander Lukashenko, the president of Belarus, has repeatedly denied rumors that his country’s troops would directly participate in the fighting across the border. However, Ukraine issued a warning in December after Minsk claimed that the remains of a Ukrainian missile had landed on its soil that it does “not rule out” a “deliberate provocation” from Russia.

The conflict next door has a significant impact on the people living in the Belarusian town of Kobryn, which is close to the Ukrainian border.

Of course I’m concerned. I was quite concerned when this issue initially arose, but as a regular person, I have no control over it, said 28-year-old Diana Sychik to CNN. She sobs and claims she hasn’t seen anything and doesn’t want to participate in the conflict because “war is horrible, and this is bad.”

Her mother, who lives close to the border, reportedly informed her that tanks were being brought and that she had seen helicopters flying.

However, this is understandable because our government had to find a way to secure the border because it is likewise concerned for its citizens.

A senior citizen who wished to remain anonymous claimed that he thought “America is attacking us,” noting the HIMARS multiple launch rocket system that the US had given to Ukrainian military.

“With Russia, we are a one country. We should definitely assist them, he remarked.