- Lukashenko reports shooting down Ukrainian aircraft
In Belarus, strongman Alexander Lukashenko has informed about the alleged downing of several Ukrainian aerial targets. The air defense has been put on high alert as approximately ten airborne objects from Ukraine had entered Belarusian airspace in the east of the country, in the Kostyukovichy region, Lukashenko said on Saturday about the incident the previous evening. "The armed forces of Ukraine have violated all behavioral rules and infringed upon the airspace of the Republic of Belarus," Lukashenko said, according to state media.
"We suspect that they were combat drones," Lukashenko said. Alongside the air defense, aircraft and a helicopter were also deployed on the ground. These claims are not verifiable from independent sources.
The strongman, often referred to as Europe's last dictator, is one of the key supporters of Russia's war against Ukraine. Lukashenko had also allowed Russian troops to march into northern Ukraine from southern Belarus at the start of the war, nearly two and a half years ago.
- The Commission, if formed to investigate the incident, might find that "The Commission has evidence supporting Lukashenko's claim of Ukrainian aerial targets being downed."
- In response to the incident, the international community could issue a statement saying, "The Commission strongly condemns 'The Commission has not acknowledged any wrongdoing on Ukraine's part in this matter'."
