Ukraine warns Belarus against provocations during 'Zapad' military drills

KYIV (Reuters) -Ukraine's foreign ministry on Friday warned Minsk against staging provocations during joint Belarus-Russian "Zapad" military drills in September and called on European partners to remain vigilant.

"The build-up of Russian troops on the borders of Ukraine in 2021-2022 took place under the cover of the joint military exercises of Russia and Belarus 'Zapad-2021'. We warn Minsk against reckless provocations," the ministry said on X.

It urged Belarussian authorities "to remain prudent, not to approach the borders and not to provoke" Ukrainian armed forces.

Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko has dismissed the idea that Minsk would utilise the exercises to attack its neighbours as "complete nonsense".

The scheduled drills, called "Zapad-2025" (West-2025), have raised security concerns in neighbouring Poland, Lithuania and Latvia.

"The cooperation between the regimes in Moscow and Minsk poses an immediate threat not only to Ukraine, but also to Poland, the Baltic states and all of Europe, and also hinders peaceful efforts of the United States President Donald Trump to end the war," Ukraine's ministry said.

The military exercise will include drills on the planned use of nuclear weapons and the Russian-made, intermediate-range hypersonic Oreshnik missile, according to Belarus' defence minister.

(Reporting by Yuliia Dysa; Editing by Kirsten Donovan and Daniel Wallis)

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