Of us support a train in opposition to the results of the August presidential elections, in Minsk, Belarus. File Photo by Tatyana Zenkovich/EPA-EFE
July 3 (UPI) — Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has ordered closure of the border with Ukraine over claims that weapons were flowing into the country as allotment of a coup strive.
Lukashenko acknowledged all the procedure thru an match on Friday marking 30 years of post-Soviet independence for Belarus that he had ordered closure of its border with professional-Western Ukraine to pause a “colossal quantity” of weapons arriving within the country, professional media reported.
The authoritarian ruler asserted the weapons are allotment of an strive to invent a coup and that they are being shipped to “terrorist cells” funded by Germany, Lithuania, Poland, Ukraine and the US.
Lukashenko declared that the “sleeper cells” had been uncovered with the similar worldwide locations acting as coordinators.
“These cells intend to overthrow the manager at a specified date,” he asserted without offering substantive evidence.
The allegations advance amid Western sanctions in opposition to Belarus over disputed August election and safety forces escalating crackdown on dissent. The Viasna Human Rights Center tallied 529 political prisoners as of Saturday.
Ukraine’s Ministry of International Affairs spokesperson Oleg Nikolenko denied the Belarusian allegations.
“Ukraine categorically rejects Alexander Lukashenko’s accusation of alleged palms supply from Ukraine,” Nikolenko urged Ukrinform Saturday. “We maintain by no procedure interfered within the interior affairs of Belarus. We’re now now not going to form that within the lengthy flee. We rely on the similar utter from Minsk so that the northern border remains a get dangle of home.”
Nikolenko added that closure of the border hurts the Belarusian participants since Ukraine is a democratic country that respects human rights.
“First of all, the Belarusian participants would suffer from this kind of step,” he acknowledged.
The Pronounce Border Guard Service of Ukraine acknowledged it had now now not but obtained professional notification from Belarus concerning adjustments in border protection.
