Belarusian Special Units Ordered to ‘Act Without Warning’ if Borders Violated - Tensions with NATO Rise Fast

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has warned that Belarusian forces will react swiftly and without warning if the country’s borders are violated, issuing orders to this effect to the leadership of the Ministry of Defense. Addressing Defense Minister Viktor Khrenin on live broadcast, the embattled president stated: "There won't be a warning. We warned them. If they violate the state border, we react without warning.” These orders come amid growing tensions between the Eastern European state and the Western Bloc, with Belarus considered Russia’s only military ally on the continent and the only country that remains both outside NATO and outside the U.S.-led alliance’s sphere of influence. The European Union has notably refused to recognise the outcome of Belarus' recent presidential election, with Western state media outlets roundly supporting pro-Western opposition candidates and denouncing the current government. Belarusian helicopters have also been ordered to intercept propaganda balloons being sent into the country from NATO territory since a series of pro-Western riots and protests began to engulf the capital Minsk, while the country has perceived a very real risk of Western military intervention to capitalise on the slight instability which has followed the elections. 

Defence Minister Khrenin previously warned NATO President Jens Stoltenberg that NATO troops in Lithuania "are approaching the border, turning around and leaving… But we see them. If on Sunday it is [the movement of forces] in our direction if this happens, then we will act in accordance with the situation.” He further highlighted the possibility of instability on the country’s western border, where it faces potentially the greatest military threat from NATO forces. Minister Khrenin started to this effect: "it is possible that destructive forces, supervised by the special services of Western countries, enter the territory of the western regions of Belarus, both by legal and illegal means to increase efforts to destabilise the situation…. At the same time, various provocations are possible to violate the airspace and the state border.” In response to this threat, President Lukashenko earlier ordered an air assault brigade comprised of elite units to move to the country’s Western border on August 15th. He also instructed the Defence Ministry to closely follow NATO forces’ movements in Poland and Lithuania, with the ministry subsequently announcing on August 24th that certain units would be placed on full alert.