Minsk. February 3. INTERFAX - A Ukrainian drone, which, according to the Belarusian authorities, was spying on the territory of Belarus, took more than 200 photos in a little less than an hour of flight, said Sergey Shuka, head of the Technical Expertise department of the State Committee for Forensic Examinations of Belarus in the Brest region.
"In order to take pictures, photographic equipment with a wide-angle lens was fixed on the fuselage of the unmanned aerial vehicle. As part of the computer-technical expertise, the memory of photographic equipment was examined. As a result, more than 200 images containing an image of the terrain were found," Shuka told the Belarus 1 TV channel.
According to the representative of the SCSE, special attention in the route of the drone was paid to the territory of the Brest training ground (one of the ranges involved in the Belarusian-Russian exercises "Allied Determination" - IF).
The drone was discovered on the territory of the training ground by military personnel.
According to the Belarusian authorities, the Ukrainian drone was launched on January 24 near the village of Food in the Kovel district of the Volyn region of Ukraine, 1.7 km from the border with Belarus. He illegally crossed the state border of the republic, was recorded in the airspace and subsequently forced to land by specialists of the Armed Forces.
The Belarusian Foreign Ministry stated that "based on the analysis of the onboard equipment data, it has been established for certain that it was launched from the territory of Ukraine in order to conduct illegal intelligence activities over the Brest military training ground.
On Thursday, the Ambassador of Ukraine to Belarus Igor Kizim was summoned to the Foreign Ministry, where they protested because of the launch of a drone. "It has been brought to the attention of the Ukrainian side that with these unfriendly steps it deliberately provokes an escalation of the situation in the region, which does not contribute to a civilized bilateral dialogue. The Belarusian side demanded the prevention of such destructive actions in the future," the Belarusian Foreign Ministry said.
The Ministry of Defense of Belarus handed a protest note to the military attache of the Embassy of Ukraine on Thursday due to the violation of the state border by a Ukrainian drone.
Russia and Belarus are checking the reaction forces of the Union State. At the first stage - until February 9 - the redeployment and creation of groups of troops is carried out. At the second stage, from February 10 to 20, a joint exercise "Allied Determination-2022" will be held.
Almost all the Armed Forces of Belarus, as well as parts of the Eastern Military District, the Aerospace Forces (VKS) and the Airborne Troops (Airborne Forces) of Russia will take part in the exercises. Su-35 fighters, S-400 Triumph long-range air defense systems, and Pantsir-S short-range air defense systems have been relocated to Belarus from Russia, in particular.
