Alexei Melnik: Russia Has Installed Repeaters For The Shaheds In Belarus
9- 2.02.2026, 22:01
- 32,846
They may look like regular civilian RVs.
The appearance of Russian drones over the Volyn and Rivne regions of Ukraine has raised questions about new attack control schemes. There is a growing theory that Russia is using the territory of Belarus to guide UAVs deep into the country.
Can Russian "Shaheds" really be controlled from the territory of Belarus when striking Ukraine? For a comment, Charter97.org turned to military expert, co-director of foreign policy and international security programs at the Razumkov Center in Kiev Alexei Melnik:
- There is an assumption why the routes of Russian "Shaheds" that attack the western regions of Ukraine pass near the Belarusian border. Technically, to control these drones in the conditions of countering REB (electronic warfare - Note Charter97.org) systems, either repeaters or aerial platforms are used. When there are such groups of drones, there should be a repeater drone or a repeater aircraft, like the A-50, which were deployed on the territory of Belarus.
One of the reasons for the routes of Russian drones may be the location of repeater towers or mobile repeaters on the territory of Belarus, where they are in a completely safe situation.
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that drone operators are also on the territory of Belarus. Is this true?"
- There is no confirmation of these facts. I would not say that exactly drone operators can be on the territory of Belarus, although it cannot be excluded. Although Ukraine refrains from harsh assessments, even more so from harsh actions, but the territory of Belarus, as we see from 2022 and earlier, is almost at Putin's complete disposal for war against Ukraine.
- What are the drone control repeaters and where can they be placed in Belarus?"
- Firstly, they can be Russian military vehicles that have antennas installed on them. This antenna is never in motion. Sometimes the vehicle is out in the field because it usually needs open terrain. If it's a high enough antenna, the repeater can operate from an enclosed area - a forested area. In any case - it is a military vehicle. It can be either with Belarusian license plates, or with Russian ones, or without license plates at all. But it must have an antenna on it.
I do not exclude that, most likely, the Russians will resort to a certain camouflage together - starting from some covers and up to the fact that externally this vehicle may not even differ from some civilian truck. It can also be mounted under a tent. If they are serious about camouflage, it can be a civilian truck, not different and unnoticeable on the road.
- How should Ukraine react to the actual participation of Lukashenko's regime in the war on the side of Russia?
- It seems to me that Ukraine will continue to limit itself to political and diplomatic means.
Even at the moment when weapons were used against Ukraine from the territory of Belarus, shelling was conducted, MiG-25s and A-50s were deployed, even at that stage Ukraine refrained from any military actions. These were exclusively political and diplomatic methods - sanctions.
How will the situation develop further? I think that the priority will still be not to give Putin an excuse to drag Lukashenko into active military participation in this war.
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