Jens Asbjørn Bøgen
He also announced a partial mobilization that will take place soon.
On April 17, Ukrainian military intelligence, known as the GUR, spotted fresh construction in Belarusian border zones.
Workers are actively paving new supply roads that head directly toward Ukraine. At the same time, fresh artillery positions are popping up in the dirt alongside those newly paved routes.
The strange border activity escalated even further in early May. A suspicious balloon carrying a drone relay device illegally crossed from Belarus into Ukrainian skies, according to urgent reports from the GUR.
And now the Belarusian President has confirmed that the Belarusian forces are preparing for war with a partial mobilization coming.
A careful plan
During a meeting with the Belarusian Defense Minister, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko revealed on Monday that his army will soon call up specific fighting units.
This targeted mobilization officially aims to ready his troops for potential combat, Belarusian news agency BeITA reported.
Yet the authoritarian leader insists he wants peace. He frames the entire buildup as a simple safety measure.
“Then, as I promised, we will mobilize units in a targeted manner to prepare them for war. God willing, it can be avoided,” Lukashenko stated according to the agency.
The Russian daily newspaper Kommersant also published the remarks, highlighting the confusing mixed signals coming out of Minsk right now.
Fixing the flaws
This latest public move follows a massive internal review of the national armed forces. The process began months ago. Lukashenko originally ordered his generals to check their combat readiness back on January 16.
Ten days later, Khrenin launched the formal troop inspections. Security Council Secretary Alexander Volfovich announced the end of those checks on March 13, though he firmly promised a follow up action.
“De facto” Russian
In January 2025 the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) released a report on the long-standing strategic goal of the Kremlin de facto annexing Belarus.
The think tank notes that the process is ongoing and still not complete, but that the process has made notable gains.
Part of the plan is to establish permanent Russian military bases in Belarus during peacetime.
In 2026 the ISW has assessed that Russia is already treating Belarus as annexed by Russia.
During the war in Ukraine, Russia has used Belarus extensively as a staging ground, launchpad and logistics hub. Russian forces even crossed the Ukrainian border from Belarus when the invasion was launched in February 2022.
Sources: BelTA, Kommersant, Militarnyi, Ukrainian military intelligence (GUR), Institute for the Study of War
