Belarus scrambled fighter jets to down Russian Shahed drones over its territory on Thursday, according to reports.
Two Shahed attack drones entered Belarus' southeastern Gomel district neighboring Ukraine and Russia at around 1 a.m., according to the Belarusian Hajun Project, an independent military monitoring outlet.
Belarus deployed fighter jets from its Baranovichi air base at around 1:30 a.m., 2:20 a.m., and at 3:10 a.m., the outlet said on Telegram.
The Context
Iranian-made Shahed unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have been used extensively by Russia in the war in Ukraine.
The Hajun Project said on August 29 that "aviation was used for the first time in Belarus to shoot down a Shahed drone."
What We Know
"Shaheds are being shot down in the Gomel region—explosions are heard," the Hajun Project said.
It published a video purportedly showing Shahed drones "burning and falling in the sky over Gomel."
Belarusian Telegram channels also reported that falling debris from the drones caused fires.
Newsweek could not immediately verify the reports and has contacted the Belarusian foreign ministry for comment.
The Belarusian government has yet to comment on the reports.
Belarus, a former Soviet republic, has maintained strong relations with Russia throughout the war.
While Lukashenko's troops haven't directly joined the Ukrainian conflict, Russian troops have been allowed to conduct exercises on Belarusian territory since before the beginning of the war. The country was used by Russia to help launch its invasion of Ukraine two years ago.
Poland, Ukraine's NATO ally, has also been forced to scramble its fighter jets to protect its airspace from Russian missiles. Moscow has said incursions were accidental.
Views
Hanna Liubakova, a journalist from Belarus and a non-resident fellow at the Atlantic Council think tank, said on X (formerly Twitter) that the war in Ukraine "is close to Belarus."
"A video shows Shahed drones falling over [Gomel]," she wrote.
"They were shot down in Belarus, and fighter jets were launched. The notification system, which has been continuously installed and tested since 2022, failed to warn the residents, reports Flagshtok."
What's Next?
The Hajun Project said the Armed Forces of Belarus are currently searching for "unexploded missiles that fell in the border (with Ukraine) areas of the Gomel region."
"Most likely, we are talking about the missiles that tried to shoot down Russian Shaheds," it said.
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