Belarus Drone Relays Helped Russia Strike Diplomatic Train Route Near Polish Border

Belarus has reactivated signal relay stations that help Russian Shahed and Gerbera drones reach deeper into western Ukraine, reversing a June shutdown that followed a direct warning from President Volodymyr Zelensky. State Border Guard Service spokesman Andrii Demchenko said in a televised interview early Saturday that Belarusian relay activity had intensified in recent days.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. “Since the end of last week, we have essentially been detecting the activation of signal relays that amplify the signal for Russian drones that the enemy directs at our western regions,” he said. The systems allow Russian drones entering from Russia to stay close to the Belarusian border, pick up stronger signals and then move deeper toward the Rivne, Volyn and Lviv regions. Demchenko said the activity shows Belarus is continuing to help Russia attack Ukraine despite statements from Alexander Lukashenko seeking to distance Minsk from Moscow’s war. Kyiv forced the relays offline in June In June, President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine had identified four Russian signal relay stations operating in Belarus’s Gomel and Brest regions. He said the equipment had helped Russia strike the Zhytomyr, Rivne and Volyn regions, including Ukrainian energy infrastructure, railways, cities and villages. Zelensky gave Lukashenko one week to remove the systems, warning that Ukraine would destroy them if Minsk failed to act. Within days, the equipment went silent. Other Topics of Interest ‘We Won’t Let Putin Wait Us Out’: Senator Shaheen Outlines Sweeping New US Sanctions Package The bill targets Russian energy revenues and major buyers including China, as Shaheen also urges more interceptors and Starlink support for Ukraine. On June 24, Zelensky said military and intelligence reports showed that the relay stations had stopped operating as of June 22, although Kyiv could not confirm whether they had been dismantled or merely switched off. Ukraine’s Air Force later said the shutdown had significantly weakened Russia’s ability to control Shahed drones in real time, including changing their routes and targets while airborne. Now, they are back. The renewed relay activity follows a familiar and dangerous pattern. Demchenko linked Belarusian support directly to Russia’s Sept. 13 drone attack near the Yahodyn-Dorohusk crossing with Poland. A Russian drone struck a locomotive on the Kyiv-Warsaw route roughly two kilometers from the Polish border, while another hit near the crossing itself. The passenger train carried 206 people and was evacuated before impact. A diplomatic train carrying former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, former Swedish Prime Minister Carl Bildt and other Western officials had passed through the station shortly beforehand. “As of now, Belarus is actively assisting Russia” in strikes on Ukrainian territory, Demchenko said while discussing the Yahodyn attack. Kyiv watches northern border While the electronic threat has returned, Ukraine is not currently seeing a Belarusian ground force near the border capable of launching a conventional invasion, the State Border Guard Service said. Kyiv nevertheless remains alert, closely monitoring frequent Belarusian military exercises and readiness checks. Belarus as Russia’s launchpad In February 2022, Belarus served as one of the main launchpads for Russia’s full-scale invasion. Since then, Minsk has hosted Russian tactical nuclear weapons, held repeated joint military exercises and provided military infrastructure that helps Moscow sustain pressure on Ukraine. For Kyiv, the issue is not only whether Belarusian soldiers cross the border. The deeper concern is whether Belarusian territory, bases, radar systems, relay stations and logistics continue to support Russian attacks. That makes Belarus part of the battlefield, even if Lukashenko insists he is not part of the war. Sevinj Osmanqizi is an experienced journalist who writes extensively for Kyiv Post on foreign policy, international security and geopolitics. Based in Washington, D.C., her work focuses on Ukraine, Russia’s war and the broader post-Soviet space.