Belarus Still Hosts Russian Drone Relays, Ukraine’s Border Service Says

A relay station is an intermediary that receives and passes along a radio or data signal. It can extend the distance over which a drone remains connected to guidance systems. The article says Belarus is allowing Russian drones to use such stations on its territory, making them a military support tool without Belarus openly sending combat units.

The key mechanism is signal amplification. Ukrainian border officials said the relays help guide Russian aerial weapons launched toward Ukraine through Belarusian territory. They specifically reported Russian Shahed and Gerbera drones using amplified signals while heading toward Rivne, Volyn and Lviv regions.

This matters because a relay can help maintain communication or guidance near Ukraine’s western border. The article does not describe the stations’ exact equipment or how drones navigate in detail. It does report that Ukrainian guards detected the relays operating again in September, keeping Belarusian infrastructure involved in Russia’s aerial attacks.

The article identifies three Ukrainian regions on routes used by relay-supported Russian drones: Rivne, Volyn and Lviv. All are in western Ukraine, where Belarusian territory and infrastructure could assist aerial operations directed toward Ukraine.

Ukrainian border guards said Belarusian relays were amplifying signals for Russia’s Shahed and Gerbera drones. Those signals helped guide the drones toward the three named regions. The article does not provide a total number of drone flights or explain whether every drone reached its intended target.

The three-region figure shows the reported reach of the relay network, rather than the full geographical scope of Russia’s drone campaign. It also highlights why Ukraine continues to monitor Belarus’s border and infrastructure. Ukrainian officials said the threat remains, even though they had no preliminary information indicating preparations for a ground attack there.

Ukraine’s reported concern is Belarusian technical and logistical support for Russia’s aerial attacks. DPSU spokesperson Andrii Demchenko said Belarus continued allowing Russian drones to use relay stations on its territory. The relays amplify signals and help guide Russian aerial weapons launched toward Ukraine.

At the same time, Demchenko said border guards had not recorded Russian troops being moved into Belarus. They also had not seen Belarusian forces being pulled toward the Ukrainian border. He added that Russia was not sending additional infantry groups or units to Belarus.

The threat therefore remains, but the reported evidence points to infrastructure support rather than a new troop concentration. Demchenko said Ukraine had no preliminary information indicating preparations for an attack near the border. The article also says Lukashenko has repeatedly stated Belarus will not send troops unless Belarus is attacked.

On June 19, President Volodymyr Zelensky gave Alexander Lukashenko one week to dismantle relay stations near the border. On June 24, Zelensky said the stations had stopped working two days earlier, meaning he placed the shutdown on June 22. He said it was unclear whether the equipment had actually been dismantled.

The reported pause did not last permanently. In September, DPSU spokesperson Andrii Demchenko said Ukrainian border guards had detected the relays being activated again. Their reported function was to amplify signals for Russian Shahed and Gerbera drones.

The sequence suggests a change in activity rather than confirmed removal of the equipment. The article does not say exactly when in September the stations restarted. It links their renewed operation to drone routes toward Rivne, Volyn and Lviv and to the continuing security concern along Ukraine’s northern border.

When relay-supported drones operate near border crossings and rail lines, they can threaten civilian infrastructure and transport routes. The article links the relays to a Sept. 13 drone attack near the Yahodyn crossing with Poland. That crossing is part of a route connecting Ukraine with Poland.

Meduza reported that drones struck a gas station near the crossing and a passenger train on the Kyiv-Warsaw line. The example shows how aerial attacks supported by signals from Belarus can reach locations used for fuel, travel and international rail transport.

The article also identifies Rivne, Volyn and Lviv as western Ukrainian regions along routes used by relay-supported drones. Their operation could therefore create risks beyond military targets, although the article does not give a full damage assessment. Continued relay activity would keep border areas and western transport infrastructure exposed to possible attacks.

Russia is the attacking force using Shahed and Gerbera drones against Ukraine. Belarus is reported to support those operations by allowing relay stations on its territory, helping amplify signals and guide aerial weapons. Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko has said he does not plan to send troops unless Belarus is attacked.

Ukraine’s State Border Guard Service tracks activity near the border. Its spokesperson, Andrii Demchenko, reported renewed relay use but no Russian troop movement into Belarus or Belarusian troop buildup near Ukraine. President Volodymyr Zelensky previously demanded that Lukashenko dismantle relays near the border.

Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, Belarus’s opposition leader, warned that a new Russian attack from Belarusian territory was a real possibility. She said Lukashenko would be willing to provide territory, logistics and infrastructure. The article presents Belarusian support as continuing, while direct Belarusian troop involvement remains unreported.

Drones generally use communications links to receive instructions, navigation data or mission updates. A relay station sits between the drone and its controller, receiving a weak signal and passing it onward. By extending or strengthening that link, the station can help guidance signals reach a drone farther away or operating behind obstacles.

Navigation systems can also combine transmitted guidance with onboard location data. The article gives only the central mechanism: Belarusian relays amplify signals and help guide Russian aerial weapons launched toward Ukraine. Ukrainian guards said the relays supported Shahed and Gerbera drones heading toward western regions.

The article does not specify whether the relays carried live control, route updates, navigation corrections or another type of signal. It also does not describe the drones’ internal equipment. What it does establish is that renewed relay activity in September helped Russia use Belarusian infrastructure in aerial operations against Ukraine.