Ukraine warns Belarus of ‘consequences’ over drone equipment

{"text":[[{"start":7.4,"text":"Volodymyr Zelenskyy has warned Belarus of “extremely dangerous consequences” if it keeps supporting the Russian war effort with military equipment set up inside the country, a day after issuing a one-week ultimatum for it to be removed."}],[{"start":21.3,"text":"The Ukrainian president stepped up pressure on Minsk in a Saturday evening address in which he said Ukraine was aware of four relay stations installed in Belarus’s Gomel and Brest regions that were used by Russian drones to strike targets in western Ukraine."}],[{"start":36.15,"text":"Zelenskyy said that Ukraine knew “about every plant in Belarus that is working for Russia”."}],[{"start":41.8,"text":"“Belarus should act in line with what its de facto leadership is saying through unofficial channels, so that we can actually see in Ukraine that Belarus is truly against this war,” he said."}],[{"start":53.849999999999994,"text":"Zelenskyy’s comments followed a press conference on Friday, where he said one week “should be enough” for Belarus’s leader Alexander Lukashenko to dismantle the equipment. “If he doesn’t, we will,” he said."}],[{"start":null,"text":"

"}],[{"start":67.05,"text":"Kyiv has insisted in recent months that Russia is looking to involve Belarus more deeply in its war with Ukraine."}],[{"start":75.39999999999999,"text":"The latest declarations signal a tougher stance on Belarus from Kyiv, which has since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion tried to avoid antagonising Minsk out of fear that Belarus would increase its involvement in the war."}],[{"start":88.64999999999999,"text":"The Ukrainian president claimed in April that Ukrainian intelligence had detected new roads being built and artillery positions established in Belarus and near the Ukrainian border. Zelenskyy also warned of “unusual activity along sections of the Ukraine-Belarus border” in early May."}],[{"start":106.35,"text":"Zelenskyy said on Saturday that deliveries of gasoline from Belarus to Russia grew 13 times in the first five months of 2026 compared with last year during the same period."}],[{"start":117.39999999999999,"text":"Robert Brovdi, the head of Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces, warned in May that its forces had already recorded 500 potential targets in Belarus. The same day, Zelenskyy met Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya in Kyiv for the first time."}],[{"start":134.64999999999998,"text":"Belarus did not immediately reply to a request to comment. On Tuesday, the country’s leader insisted that Minsk posed no threat to Ukraine, even voicing a rare apology towards Zelenskyy."}],[{"start":145.89999999999998,"text":"“If Volodymyr Oleksandrovych [Zelenskyy] was offended, I apologise to him for these words,” Lukashenko said."}],[{"start":153.64999999999998,"text":"Russian forces used Belarusian territory as a launch pad for their offensive towards Kyiv in 2022."}],[{"start":161.24999999999997,"text":"In the initial stages of the Russian invasion, Minsk also hosted the first peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine — with three rounds of negotiations held in Belarus in late February and early March, before the ultimately unsuccessful talks were moved to Istanbul."}],[{"start":185.64999999999998,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1782084422_6161.mp3"}