Taking No Chances: Along The Ukraine-Belarus Border, A War of Nerves And Drones

A Ukrainian soldier monitors a drone during a demonstration close to the border with Belarus on February 1. The reconnaissance drones are flown several times a day to detect signs of trouble from the other side.

Unlike in the east, with its devastating artillery duels, here in the north, it’s largely a war of quadcopters.

Even though military experts and Western intelligence have played down the possibility of a renewed northern offensive, Ukrainians are taking no chances.  

Since the summer, troops have been reinforcing defenses, building and expanding trenches and laying mines in the forest ahead of the springtime offensive military officials expect.

A Ukrainian soldier looks out from his position toward the Belarus border on February 1.

Concerns of a renewed military push heightened in January after Russia and Belarus held joint air force drills, one month after a rare visit by Russian President Vladimir Putin to Minsk. Belarusian officials attribute the troop deployment along the border to “strategic deterrence.”

A dog lies beneath a table at a Ukrainian position close to the border with Belarus. 

Ukrainian commanders are wary, remembering how Russia used Belarus as a launching pad in early 2022. “We continuously monitor the enemy from the ground and observe the movement of troops -- if they are moving, how many troops, and where they are moving,” the area's army intelligence unit head said during a press tour near the border this week. 

Using the call sign Oleksandr, the army intelligence unit head said that Belarusians and Russians are “constantly monitoring our guard changes, trying to find our military’s positions.”

At times, Oleksandr’s unit detects enemy drones and shoots them down using anti-drone rifles. Or an enemy drone detects a Ukrainian one and tails it, at which point the Ukrainians try to capture it and add it to their stock. “We got four of their drones this way recently, and they took two of ours,” Oleksandr said.

Ukrainian officials say no one can predict how Moscow will act in the upcoming months, so a posture of alertness is required. “The [fortifications] were made to prevent re-infiltration,” said Oleksandr. “Whether it will happen or not, we must always be ready.”
 

Memories here are still fresh of the temporary occupation when Russian troops attempted to lay siege to the main regional city of Chernihiv. 

A sign reads: "Don't be a poacher, hunt by the rules."

The idea of another invasion from the north horrifies residents of nearby villages.

“We’re listening for every small sound and noise. This isn’t a way to live,” said Valentyna Matveva, 64, from the village of Ripky. “When you’re in constant fear, that’s not life.”

Attack or no attack, Olena, from the village of Novi Yarylovychi, fears the border situation means she may never again see her mother, brother, and two sisters living just 3 kilometers away, inside Belarus.

“I can’t believe they are so close and I can’t see them,” said the 63-year old, who is Belarusian by birth but married into a Ukrainian family.