Belarus is nearing completion of road infrastructure with ammunition and fuel storage bases directly along Ukraine’s state border, under what President Volodymyr Zelensky described as “obvious Russian influence.”
Zelensky, in a Telegram post, identified five border areas where construction is underway – Kobrin-Kovel, Ivanovo-Manevychi, Lunynets-Sarny, Rechytsa-Korosten, and Homel-Cherniviv. Russian documents describe this infrastructure in the context of tasks tied to Moscow’s Ukraine invasion, which it labels its “special military operation.”
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“This infrastructure has no purpose other than military,” Zelensky said, warning that the construction could signal preparation for a possible expansion of aggression against Ukraine in joint efforts with Russia.
Ukraine has called on Minsk to halt the construction and de-escalate.
“Belarus knows what steps are needed on its part for peace,” he said.
Crimea’s fuel and logistics crisis deepens
Meanwhile, Ukrainian foreign intelligence has obtained data confirming a daily deepening of the fuel, military logistics and governance crisis in Russian-occupied Crimea, with Russia’s occupation administration acknowledging its inability to resolve the problems, Zelensky said.
Russian-installed authorities in occupied Crimea and Sevastopol suspended all civilian fuel sales on June 21, restricting gasoline and diesel to emergency and state vehicles, following Ukrainian drone strikes and fires at fuel terminals in Kerch and at Port Kavkaz near the Kerch Strait.
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Since mid-June, Ukraine has launched a series of large-scale drone attacks targeting Moscow and surrounding regions, with Russian authorities reporting that they intercepted 60 drones near the capital on June 16, 76 on June 19, and 84 on June 22.
According to Russian authorities, the largest attack came on June 18, with 194 drones aimed at the capital.
Russia’s public anxiety continues to grow
According to internal Russian documentation obtained by Ukrainian intelligence, the level of anxiety among Russian citizens has now surpassed 50%, exceeding levels recorded during Ukraine’s Kursk operation.
Roughly 66% of Russians describe their financial situation as difficult, while more than 80% consider a large-scale economic crisis in Russia inevitable.
“Absolutely transparent indicators that reflect the failure of [Kremlin leader Vladimir] Putin’s war policy,” Zelensky said, presenting these figures as clear evidence that Russia’s domestic situation is deteriorating under the combined weight of fuel shortages, military losses and Western sanctions.
Shifting between denial and preparation
Zelensky issued a public demand to Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko on June 19, giving him one week to withdraw Russian military equipment from areas near Ukraine’s border, warning that Ukrainian forces would act if Minsk failed to do so.
On Wednesday, it was reported that Belarus switched off retransmitters used to guide Russian Shahed drones toward Ukraine, according to briefings from Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrsky and Ukraine’s intelligence service.
“Today Lukashenko, Belarus, is one of the main suppliers for the Russian army. Can this be stopped? I am convinced it is within his power,” Zelensky stated, criticizing Belarus’s role in providing material support to the Russian military.
Lukashenko’s public stance on the war has shifted repeatedly, creating a pattern of contradiction.
On June 15, Lukashenko completely ruled out Belarusian involvement in the war, calling any possible spillover onto his country’s territory “absolutely unacceptable,” even claiming Putin himself acknowledged this.
Yet, just one week later, on June 22, Belarus’s opposition United Transitional Cabinet submitted a 30-page report to Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry warning that Lukashenko may in fact be preparing for war, citing constitutional changes removing Belarus’s neutral status – a fivefold increase in defense spending, a 50% growth in contract soldiers, and the formation of a Southern Operation Command along the Ukrainian border.
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