A Mi-24 helicopter belonging to Belarus’ air defense forces attacked and destroyed a Russian Gerbera-type strike UAV heading toward Ukraine on Saturday, July 12, sources in Ukraine’s military intelligence (HUR) told Kyiv Post on Monday morning.
According to a HUR representative, at least three Russian drones were present in Belarusian airspace at the time. During a routine airspace monitoring operation, the Belarusian air defense helicopter reported detecting and neutralizing the drone. Intelligence sources say the wreckage of the downed UAV fell in Belarus’ Gomel region.
Belarus has not officially joined the war against Ukraine but has provided Russia with its territory for troop deployment, missile strikes, and logistics. The regime of Alexander Lukashenko supports the Kremlin politically and rhetorically while avoiding direct involvement of Belarusian armed forces in combat operations. Kyiv officially considers Belarus a co-aggressor in the war.
On July 10, Lithuania scrambled fighter jets to intercept an unidentified drone that entered its airspace from Belarus. Due to the potential threat, the country’s leadership temporarily moved to shelters. The UAV crashed about one kilometer from the Belarusian border, near the closed Shumsk border checkpoint.
Later, Lithuania’s Minister of National Defense, Dovilė Šakalienė, confirmed the drone was a Russian Gerbera – a decoy UAV with no warhead, designed to distract air defense systems. How it managed to enter Lithuanian territory after crossing through Ukraine and Belarus remains under investigation.