Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has escalated pressure on Belarus by demanding that Minsk dismantle infrastructure which Kyiv says is being used to support Russian drone operations along the border.

During a June 19 press briefing, Zelenskyy called on the Belarusian authorities to remove specific signal retransmission equipment allegedly facilitating Russian drone activity, warning that if Minsk failed to act within a week, Ukraine would do so itself. He also urged Belarus to halt petroleum exports from its refineries to Russia and called for an end to supplies of military-related components from Belarusian industry.

Zelenskyy further suggested that Belarus' leadership privately opposes the war and should begin acting accordingly. His remarks came shortly before June 22, a date carrying deep historical significance in Belarus as the anniversary of Nazi Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II.

Meanwhile, analysts at the Institute for the Study of War have argued that the Kremlin could eventually use the Union State framework to draw Belarus further into the conflict, including by recruiting Belarusian citizens into Russian military formations to address Russia's continuing manpower shortages.

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