Ukraine says Belarus has reactivated signal repeaters boosting Russian drones near Polish border
Ukraine's State Border Guard Service says Belarus has switched back on signal repeaters on its territory that boost Russian Shahed and Gerber drones, allowing them to fly deeper into western Ukraine. Spokesperson Andriy Demchenko said the repeaters, which had been turned off after a presidential warning in June, are now active again and supported recent strikes on Rivne, Volyn and Lviv oblasts, including the September 13 attack on the Yahodyn border crossing with Poland.
Key points
- Andriy Demchenko, spokesperson for Ukraine's State Border Guard Service, said Belarus is again activating relay equipment that boosts the signal for Russian Shahed and Gerber drones.
- Russian drones enter from Russian territory but stay near the Belarus border to pick up the boosted signal, enabling them to reach western oblasts including Rivne, Volyn and Lviv.
- The attack on the Yahodyn border crossing in Volyn Oblast was carried out with the support of Belarusian repeaters, Demchenko said.
- Belarus had switched the repeaters off after a warning from President Zelensky in June; they are now back on.
- Demchenko said there is currently no build-up of a strike group on the Belarusian side near the Ukrainian border ready to invade.
- On the morning of September 13, a Russian drone struck a passenger train locomotive at Yahodyn, about two kilometers from the Polish border; passengers had been evacuated 15 minutes earlier and no one was injured.
- On September 16, Russian forces struck an electric locomotive in Kovel, Rivne Oblast, according to President Zelensky.
Why it matters
The reactivation of Belarusian repeaters restores Russia's ability to guide Shahed and Gerber drones deep into western Ukrainian oblasts, including targets near the Polish border, and links the Yahodyn attack directly to Belarusian territory as an enabler of Russian strikes.
What happened
Andriy Demchenko, spokesperson for Ukraine's State Border Guard Service, said Belarus has switched back on signal repeaters on its territory that boost the signal for Russian Shahed and Gerber drones. Russian drones enter from Russian airspace but stay near the border with Belarus to receive the relayed signal, which allows them to fly deeper into western Ukraine. Demchenko named Rivne, Volyn and Lviv oblasts as affected and said the September 13 strike on the Yahodyn border crossing, in Volyn Oblast on the border with Poland, was carried out with the support of Belarusian repeaters. He said the repeaters had previously been switched off after a warning from President Zelensky in June, and that Belarus has now turned them back on. Demchenko added that there is currently no build-up of a strike group on the Belarusian side of the border ready to carry out an invasion. The September 13 attack at Yahodyn struck a passenger train locomotive about two kilometers from the Polish border; passengers had been evacuated 15 minutes earlier and no one was injured. On September 16, Russian forces struck an electric locomotive in Kovel in Rivne Oblast, according to President Zelensky.
How Ukrainian sources describe it
Ukrainian coverage centers on statements from official spokespersons — Andriy Demchenko of the State Border Guard Service, Oleh Ivashchenko of military intelligence and Serhiy Bratchuk of the Ukrainian Volunteer Army — and frames Belarus as an active accomplice in Russian strikes rather than a neutral actor. Ukrainian reporting emphasizes the prior presidential ultimatum to Belarus in June, the temporary shutdown of the repeaters that followed, and their reactivation as a deliberate policy reversal. The Yahodyn attack and the September 16 strike in Kovel are linked directly to the Belarusian repeaters, with Ukrainian sources highlighting the proximity to the Polish border.
Background
On 19 June, President Zelensky gave Belarus one week to dismantle the relay equipment; from 22 June the repeaters were reported to have stopped operating. Yahodyn is a border crossing point in Volyn Oblast on the border with Poland. On the morning of 13 September, a Russian drone struck a locomotive of a passenger train at Yahodyn, about two kilometers from the Polish border; passengers were evacuated 15 minutes beforehand and no one was injured.