Belarusian involvement in the Russian invasion of Ukraine

[1][2][3][4] However, these forces withdrew within two months, thus ceasing land-based military operations originating from Belarus and resulting in the recapture of the Ukrainian side of the border region by Ukraine.

Hackers have targeted Belarusian government agencies as well as the country's critical infrastructure, with the aim of disrupting the Russian war effort in Belarus.

[20] Belarusian media and Telegram channels also circulated numerous videos and photos showing movement of Russian armored vehicles and helicopters in southern Belarus.

[2][10][21] Three days later, the Ukrainian Centre for Strategic Communication reported that Zhytomyr Airport was bombed by the missiles launched from the territory of Belarus.

Charter 97 and its chief editor, Natalya Radina, also stated that Belarusian officers reported to their seniors that they would risk mutiny or mass surrender if they took their units into Ukraine.

[40] On 17 March, the open-source investigators MotolkoHelp reported that more Russian Iskander missiles were deployed at the Machulishchy air base and air-defense systems were seen on the territory of Belarus, such as Pantsir-S1 in the Minsk region and near the town of Mazyr and S-400 at Baranavichy.

According to MotolkoHelp, Belarusian soldiers were ordered to do the "dirty job" for the Russian forces, such as repairing damaged hardware and cleaning vehicles of dirt and human remains.

[41] On multiple occasions, NATO, US, and/or Ukrainian officials/authorities have issued warnings that Belarus may imminently enter the war to assist Russia, including after the 11 March accusations of a Russian-initiated false flag attack on Belarusian border settlements.

[42][43][44][45] On 22 March, a 'senior NATO intelligence official' stated that Belarus is "preparing the environment to justify a Belarusian offensive against Ukraine," though the decision to join the war had not been made yet.

On 2 April 2022, Ukrainian intelligence reported that Russian soldiers made a "bazaar" in Naroulia to sell the goods (washing machines, refrigerators, cars, bicycles, dishes, carpets, works of art, jewelry, toys, cosmetics, etc.).

[47] On 4 April, Belarusian journalists published a 3-hour footage of Russian soldiers drawing up documents to send large amount of goods in a postal service in Mazyr (one of them had the badge of the 56th Guards Air Assault Brigade).

The head of the Center for Combating Disinformation of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine (NSDC) Andriy Kovalenko interpreted these actions by Minsk as an attempt to help Russia and distract the attention of the Ukrainian command to the Belarusian direction.

[62] According to international humanitarian law, children in war zones should be evacuated to neutral third countries whenever possible; Belarus lent its territory to be used as a staging ground for the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

[64][65] In February 2024, the European Union blacklisted Shautsou, as well as several other persons and organizations from Belarus for their involvement in the Ukrainian child abductions.

[84] Belarusian exiled opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya condemned Lukashenko for participating in the invasion[10] and expressed her belief that “Ukraine will win this war”.

[104] Ministry of internal affairs of Belarus called these acts "terrorist attacks" and accused opposition figures Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya and Pavel Latushko of inspiring them.

[111] On 30 March 2022, the police wounded three men aged 27 and 28 years from Babrujsk while detaining them for having allegedly damaged railways equipment near Asipovichy.

Seriously damaged, and made life difficult for the Russian troops.”[116][117] On 21 April 2022, eleven people accused of acts of sabotage were recognized political prisoners by the human rights community of Belarus.

[118] On 23 April 2022, The Washington Post wrote about a clandestine Belarusian network of railway workers and dissidents who helped to stop Russia's assault on Kyiv.

[119][120] On 26 February 2023 a Russian A-50 airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft was reportedly damaged by explosions while stationary at the Machulishchy air base near Minsk, a Belarusian partisan group named "Plan Victory"[121] claimed to have attacked the plane using drone-dropped munitions.

[135] On 4 March 2022, it was reported that Illia "Licvin" was the first Belarusian volunteer to be killed in action, during heavy fighting near the Ukrainian city of Bucha.

[136] On 13 March 2022 it was reported that a member of Kastuś Kalinoŭski Battalion nicknamed "Tur" (real name Aliaksiej Skoblia) was killed in action near Kyiv when his unit was ambushed.

[143] On 16 May 2022, Paval "Volat", the commander of a detachment of Kastuś Kalinoŭski Battalion was mortally wounded during a fight for a Ukrainian village and died on the way to hospital.

[105] Ministry of internal affairs of Belarus called these acts "terrorist attacks" and accused opposition figures Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya and Pavel Latushko of inspiring them.

[168][169][170] An Orthodox priest, Mikhail Maruha, was detained during a rally against the Russian invasion of Ukraine near the Minsk railway station on 28 February and sentenced to a 13-day arrest.

[172] On 27 February, a Greek Catholic parish in London addressed Ukrainian brethren expressing solidarity with the people of Ukraine and the wish for their victory to inspire Belarusians to end the Russian occupation of their country.

[175] A large number of internet hackers, in particular connected to a decentralised collective called Anonymous and the Ukrainian IT Army, launched numerous cyberattacks against Belarusian government agencies[176][177] and the state railway.

[176] A poll conducted by the Razumkov Centre between February and March 2023 found that 81% of Ukrainian respondents expressed a negative attitude towards Belarus.

[181][182] The European Union issued the first set of sanctions against Belarus - the first was introduced on 27 February, which banned certain categories of Belarusian items in the EU, including timber, steel, mineral fuels and tobacco.

[186] The paragraph 10 of the United Nations General Assembly Resolution of 2 March 2022 confirmed the involvement of Belarus in unlawful use of force against Ukraine.