Israel issues travel warning for southern Belarus amid Ukraine fighting

The Foreign Ministry has warned Israelis currently in Belarus not to approach the country’s southern border with Ukraine, due to the ongoing Russian invasion and continued deployment of military forces in the area.

The ministry also asked Israelis remaining in the Russia-aligned dictatorship — officially a republic — to register with the embassy in Minsk as a precaution.

The warning comes amid growing fears of Moscow targeting civilians in Ukraine and Belarus who are seeking to join the war from the north.

Ukraine has voiced concern about Belarusian troops joining the battle over Kyiv — located just over 167 kilometers (103.7 miles) from the Belarus-Ukraine border crossing — where a Russian advance has stalled in the face of strong resistance.

In a tweet posted Tuesday morning by the Ukrainian Parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine said Belarusian troops had entered the Chernihiv region to the north, officially joining the war.

A Belarusian convoy of 33 tanks entered the region, 143 kilometers (88 miles) from Kyiv, local reports claimed.

But such reports were later rejected by the United States, which said it had “no confirmation that the Belarusians [were] entering Ukraine, we’ve seen no indication of that.”

Following Ukraine’s statement, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said more Belarusian troops would be deployed to the border with Ukraine to “stop any provocation against Belarus,” but stressed that they would not actively participate in the fighting. “That’s not our job,” he said.

Addressing his security council on Wednesday, Lukashenko said five tactical battle groups would be sent to protect the south. These battle groups will comprise hundreds of soldiers equipped with armored vehicles and artillery, he noted, adding that helicopters and warplanes were already deployed to the southern border.

Lukashenko, considered Russian President Vladimir Putin’s closest ally, has also denied claims of Russian troops entering Ukrainian territory from Belarus.

But various reports have indicated that Belarus has been providing the Russian military with logistical support and allowing it to move freely within its borders.

In the southern Belarusian city of Mazyr, a string of seven bus-size Russian military ambulances — their windows blocked with gray shades — pulled up to the back entrance of the main hospital about 48 kilometers (30 miles) from the border with Ukraine on Tuesday evening, ferrying casualties from the front.

The convoy was part of what residents and doctors said has in recent days become a steady flow of Russian soldiers wounded in fierce fighting around the Ukrainian capital.

Ukraine’s emergency service said Wednesday night that more than 2,000 civilians have been killed so far in Russia’s invasion of the country.

Over a week into the largest military operation seen in Europe since World War II, thousands of Israelis remain in war-stricken Ukraine as of Thursday morning, according to the Foreign Ministry.

“Over the past week, we’ve extracted around 3,000 Israelis. We estimate that another 4,000-5,000 remain in Ukraine,” ministry spokesperson Lior Haiat said.