Belarus denounces violation of its airspace

Belarus denounced on Sunday that a helicopter violated its airspace from Ukraine, amid growing tensions between the two neighboring countries.

Ukraine immediately rejected the accusation.

The Belarusian Defense Ministry reported that it had summoned Ukraine’s military attaché to submit a formal complaint.

According to Belarus, the military helicopter flew one kilometer (0.6 miles) into Belarusian airspace on Saturday.

The Ukrainian Border Service denied the accusation, stating that there were helicopter and drone flights in the area solely to secure the 1,084-kilometer (672-mile) border between the two countries.

Ukraine has carried out military exercises with 8,000 troops to prepare for possible threats from its neighbor.

Belarus insists that such maneuvers, violations of its airspace and “accusatory rhetoric” from Ukraine are exacerbating tensions.

The situation between Belarus and the European Union has been deteriorating after the arrival of thousands of migrants to the Belarusian-Polish border. The EU accuses Belarus of luring migrants there on purpose in retaliation for the economic sanctions imposed by the EU for the crackdown on protests in Belarus.

Belarus rejects these accusations.

Relations between Ukraine and Belarus have deteriorated amid fears that Russia is preparing to invade Ukraine.

Russia denies it intends to invade Ukraine, but has warned NATO that it should not expand further west. The Kremlin warned that President Vladimir Putin will press the issue in a video conference with US President Joe Biden on Tuesday.