Chernihiv (Ukraine) (AFP) – The road, eaten by weeds, stops abruptly before plunging into the void. A bridge on land, and beyond, the Dnieper, border between Ukraine and Belarus.

Published on: 06/05/2026 - 2:37 p.m.

“They see us in the face, with their cameras,” slips the deputy head of a border post whose nom de guerre – Brat – means “brother”, an irony given the state of relations between these two Slavic countries with similar languages ​​and cultures which share more than 1,000 kilometers of common border.

Weapon in hand, the man is on alert, despite the dead calm of the forest.

Ukraine has been saying for several weeks that it fears that Russia will use Belarus to launch a new offensive from the north, towards kyiv, the capital, as it did at the start of its invasion on February 24, 2022.

The Russian troops withdrew several weeks later, but the Brat post still bears the scars. At the start of the war, the Russians bombed it to prepare for the passage of armored vehicles.

“We had to blow up the bridge,” explains the soldier.

In May, Moscow and Minsk conducted joint military exercises involving nuclear forces on Belarusian territory.

In the process, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky ordered increased security on the northern border, saying Moscow was seeking to further drag Minsk into its invasion of Ukraine, the worst armed conflict in Europe since World War II.

“For the moment, we do not observe any change in the situation,” tempers the 31-year-old guard, stiff and martial. “No army or any military equipment” has been detected on the other side of the border, he adds.

Today, the rusty signs in Ukrainian and Belarusian sway piteously in the wind.

Behind the barbed wire, two heads observe the luxuriant emptiness. To see the Belarusian guards, you have to gain height.

“Be ready”

Forests as far as the eye can see, the wide meandering river, and barbed wire – miles of barbed wire. This is what the border looks like from the sky.

Hidden under a tree, “Alex” and “Tchip”, Ukrainian border guards, scan the screen of their surveillance drone.

On the Dnieper, Belarusian border guard motorboats break the tranquility of the water.

“They patrol the riverbed, watch and observe,” Tchip said without taking his eyes off them.

On a daily basis, neighbors pass each other on patrols, but everyone is careful to keep their distance to avoid any incidents.

In the air, the drones monitor each other, but are careful never to cross the border.

“Maybe, somewhere in the heart of the territory of the Belarusian Republic, something is happening,” says Tchip, “but we see nothing.”

All around, only the song of the cuckoo and the purr of a tractor returning from the fields resonate.

Analysts consider a new Russian or Belarusian offensive from this border unlikely, noting in particular that Moscow does not have sufficient reserves to support another axis of land invasion.

In 2023 as in 2024, kyiv had already warned of this risk, without the threat materializing.

But in 2022, the launch of the invasion was also considered improbable.

“It’s not a question of believing it or not,” says Tchip. "We must be prepared for any eventuality. As for the rest, time will tell us."

The drone returns and lands gently in the grass, under the indifferent gaze of an old lady on a bicycle.

Trenches and anti-drone nets

On the 40 kilometers which separate the border from Cherniguiv, the capital of the region, armored excavators dig trenches. Anti-drone nets now stretch over checkpoints, devices previously reserved for combat zones.

The city center seems peaceful. Olga Vassylenko walks in the sunny park with her son and her partner, along the crowded cafe terraces.

However, she is not completely serene.

If on Sunday, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko assured that Minsk would "never" deploy troops in Ukraine, he also claimed to know of "a big Ukrainian target" near the border.

Here, everyone remembers the Russian occupation of part of the region. And the fear that history will repeat itself has become a topic of conversation.

"We need to prepare, if it is possible that this will happen. We know that we live near the front line," says Olga. “No one excludes this possibility.”

Behind her, cranes work on damaged buildings, reminiscent of recent Russian strikes on the city.

“I have confidence in our armed forces, I am convinced that they will not let them pass,” she assures.

In the meantime, his evacuation bag is already ready, like in 2022.

© 2026 AFP

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