Belarus is expanding its military footprint on the Ukrainian border again, standing up a new brigade near the frontier, the commander of its Special Operations Forces said on state television. President Lukashenka insists the buildup is defensive and that Belarus will not be dragged into the war.

Russia has long treated Belarusian soil as a forward base and pressure point—a way to rattle Ukraine's north and NATO's eastern edge without spending its own overstretched army, sustained through drills, troop moves, and nuclear signaling.

A new brigade taking shape

The unit is the 37th separate air-assault brigade under Belarus's Special Operations Forces—its fourth such airborne brigade. It will be based near the city of Homiel, just across from Ukraine's Chernihiv Oblast and about 40 km from the frontier. The permanent move to that base is set for 2027. Colonel Aliaksandr Ilyukevich, who commands the Special Operations Forces, laid out the plan on Belarus's Defense Ministry VoenTV channel on 2 August, Militarnyi reported.

By his account, one battalion is already formed, with a second due this year alongside reconnaissance, air-defense, and artillery units. Ilyukevich had first described that battalion back in February on another Belarusian state channel. His August appearance restated it and attached the unit's new 37th designation.

Why the northern buildup still costs Ukraine

Belarus has never put its own soldiers into Ukraine. It did hand Russia the launchpad for the 2022 drive on Kyiv, though, and it has kept the border militarized ever since—even hosting Russian hardware such as the drone relay stations Kyiv later pressed Minsk to pull.

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A standing brigade on the frontier still does not add up to an imminent invasion. The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) still judges a Belarusian ground assault very unlikely. However, every new unit in the north ties down Ukrainian troops and air defenses that Kyiv needs elsewhere, and it gifts Russia a threat it can activate without firing a shot—the same hybrid playbook Minsk runs against EU neighbors, funneling migrants toward Latvia.

At least four civilians were killed and 37 others injured in Russian attacks across Ukraine over the past 24 hours, regional authorities reported on July 5.

Russia launched 322 drones overnight, including Iranian-designed Shahed-type attack drones, according to Ukraine's Air Force. Air defenses intercepted 292 drones, while another 135 dropped off radars, likely used as decoys to overwhelm Ukrainian systems.

The attack was repelled using aviation, electronic warfare, mobile fire teams, and air defense systems.

In Donetsk Oblast, Russian strikes killed two civilians and injured four more, Governor Vadym Filashkin said. In Kharkiv Oblast, one person was killed and 15 injured, including two children, according to Governor Oleh Syniehubov.

In Kherson Oblast, 11 civilians were injured as Russian forces targeted residential areas and other civilian infrastructure, Governor Oleksandr Prokudin reported.

A 49-year-old postal worker was injured in Chernihiv Oblast by a first-person-view (FPV) drone, Governor Viacheslav Chaus said. The man sustained shrapnel wounds while delivering mail.

In Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, four civilians, two men and two women, were injured in Russian strikes, Governor Serhii Lysak reported.

In Zaporizhzhia Oblast, an 84-year-old man was killed, and two others — a 54-year-old man and a 10-year-old boy — were injured, Governor Ivan Fedorov said.

The latest strikes come as Russia continues to escalate its aerial campaign and reject calls for a ceasefire. Ukrainian officials have repeatedly urged Western partners to bolster Ukraine's air defense capabilities amid persistent drone and missile strikes.

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Editor's note: The article was updated after three bodies were found in Kramatorsk following a Russian attack.

Russian strikes across Ukrainian regions killed at least seven civilians and injured at least 23 over the past day, regional authorities reported on June 22.

Russia launched two Iskander-M or North Korean KN-23 ballistic missiles, an S-300 anti-aircraft missile, and 47 Shahed-type attack drones and decoy drones against Ukraine overnight, primarily targeting Chernihiv Oblast, Ukraine's Air Force said.

Ukrainian air defenses reportedly shot down 18 drones, while 10 disappeared from radars or were intercepted by electronic warfare. Seven hits by Russian aerial weapons were recorded overnight in Chernihiv, Sumy, and Odesa oblasts.

In Chernihiv Oblast, a civilian was killed in a Russian drone attack against the Nizhyn district, Governor Viacheslav Chaus reported.

In Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, Russian drone and artillery attacks against the Nikopol district injured seven people and damaged multiple houses and civilian infrastructure, Governor Serhii Lysak reported. A 63-year-old man has been hospitalized and is in moderate condition.

Russian attacks across Donetsk Oblast killed three people and injured 13, according to Governor Vadym Filashkin and the media. This included a civilian killed and three injured in Sloviansk, and another killed and two injured in Kostiantynivka.

Later on June 22, emergency workers found four bodies of people killed when a Russian missile hit a four-story residential building in Kramatorsk. Four people were injured, and one other resident may be trapped under the rubble, the State Emergency Service said.

In Kharkiv Oblast, a Russian attack killed a 77-year-old man in the village of Staryi Saltiv, Governor Oleh Syniehubov said.

Russian attacks against Kherson Oblast wounded three civilians, said the regional governor, Oleksandr Prokudin. Five multi-story apartment buildings and 11 houses were damaged.

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Russian attacks across Ukraine killed at least six civilians and injured at least 49, including a teenage boy, over the past day, regional authorities reported on June 18.

Russian forces launched 58 Shahed-type attack drones and decoys against Ukraine overnight, targeting mainly the Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk, and Zaporizhzhia oblasts, the Air Force said.

Ukrainian defenses shot down 12 drones, while 18 disappeared from radars or were intercepted by electronic warfare systems, according to the statement.

In Chernihiv Oblast, a Russian drone attack against a village in the Snovsk community on June 17 injured a 68-year-old woman, Governor Viacheslav Chaus reported.

A Russian attack against Nikopol in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast on June 17 killed a 63-year-old man, Governor Serhii Lysak reported. Two more people were injured, and an educational institution and houses were damaged.

Russian attacks across Donetsk Oblast killed a civilian in Myrnohrad and injured eight others in the region, according to Governor Vadym Filashkin.

In Kharkiv Oblast, three people were injured in Russian attacks, including a 69-year-old woman and a 15-year-old boy in Izium and a 52-year-old man in Ripky, Governor Oleh Syniehubov reported.

Russian attacks against Kherson Oblast killed two people and injured 34, according to the regional governor, Oleksandr Prokudin.

In Sumy Oblast, one person was killed and another injured in a Russian drone attack against the Bilopillia community, and another man was killed during an air strike against the Yunakivka community, the regional administration reported.

Russia launched missile and drone attacks against Zaporizhzhia, damaging multiple residential and non-residential buildings but inflicting no casualties, Governor Ivan Fedorov said.

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Sitting a few meters from the rubble of what used to be a nondescript nine-story residential building in Kyiv, Lilia rises to her feet every time another pile of debris is cleared from the site targeted by Russia during a mass overnight attack on June 17. “We are waiting (as

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