Belarus Summons Ukrainian Military Attaché After Helicopter Strays Into Airspace

Belarus has accused a Ukrainian military helicopter of flouting its border during maneuvers and flying one kilometer (0.62 miles) into Belarusian territory. The Belarusian State Border Committee said this on Saturday.

“December 4 at around noon, violation of the airspace of the Republic of Belarus by Ukraine was documented on the Belarusian-Ukrainian border outside the Novaya Rudnya checkpoint of the Mozyr border guard detachment,” the statement says.

The committee said that a Ukrainian Mi-8 military helicopter crossed the state border at an altitude of about 100 meters, making an unauthorized incursion of up to one kilometer into Belarus.

“Ukraine has been informed about the incident,” the border committee said.

However, according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, the information of the Belarusian side about the violation of the airspace by the Mi-8 helicopter from the side of Ukraine does not correspond to reality.

“As part of strengthening the protection of the border with Belarus, aviation is used to monitor the border, but there have been no violations of the state border by aviation,” the message reads.

Source: Ukraina 112, with hat tip to Anti-Bellum

The Belarusian defense ministry said it had summoned Ukraine’s military attaché to protest against what it called repeated violations of Belarus’ airspace by Ukrainian aircraft. This is reported by Reuters.

Relations between the two countries have plummeted since last year, when Russia sided with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko during mass street protests and Lukashenko, in turn, became more vocal in his support for Moscow against Ukraine.

Belarus handed a note of protest to the Ukrainian official, the ministry said in a statement.

“The military attaché was informed that the Ukrainian side is avoiding a dialogue to resolve disputes … which is very worrying,” the ministry said.

Belarus said on Saturday that a Ukrainian military helicopter had flown one km into Belarusian territory during maneuvers. A spokesperson for Ukraine’s border guard service denied the accusation.

The Ukrainian army said on Sunday that it had nothing to add to that comment.

“Maybe someone made a mistake and is spreading accusations for manipulative purposes,” a spokesperson said.

Source: Ukraina 112