Belarus restricts access to parts of the region bordering Ukraine and Russia

(Reuters) – Belarus issued a ruling on Wednesday temporarily restricting access to parts of the southeastern region of Gomel, which borders Ukraine and Russia.

On its website, the government said it would “temporarily restrict entry, temporary residence and movement in the border area within the Loevsky, Braginsky and Khoiniki districts of the Gomel region”.

Russian forces used Belarus as a launching pad for their failed assault on the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, in February, and Russian and Belarusian military activity has increased in recent months.

The government did not say how long the restrictions would last, but said it did not enforce officials, workers and residents in those areas.

Belarus began conducting what it described as anti-sabotage exercises in the Gomel region on October 11. Russian soldiers arrived in Belarus four days later to join a regional gathering set up by neighbors.

Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Belarus on Monday, his first visit to the country since 2019, raising fears in Kyiv that he intends to pressure his fellow ex-Soviet union to open a new invasion front against Ukraine.

Reporting by Reuters. Writing in Melbourne by Lydia Kelly; Edited by Robert Purcell

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