“During this period, it is planned to move military equipment and personnel of the national security forces,” the country’s Security Council state, according to the BelTA news agency.
“The movement of citizens along certain public roads and areas would be restricted and the use of imitation weapons for training purposes is planned.”
The move has prompted fears that Russia may mount a new attack on Ukraine from the territory of its Belarusian ally.
Belarus has said it will not enter the war in neighbouring Ukraine, but President Alexander Lukashenko allowed Russian forces to be deployed at the country’s southern border as a staging post for its invasion in February.
In October, Lukashenko announced a fresh Russian deployment of 9,000 troops to the country as part of a new joint military grouping between the two countries.
Ukraine has been warning for months that it fears that Belarus and Russia could be planning a new incursion.
“Enemy units are being trained on the training grounds of the Republic of Belarus,” Ukraine’s General Staff wrote on Facebook on Wednesday.
Last week, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu held talks with his Belarusian counterpart, Viktor Khrenin, to discuss military cooperation.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg says that Russia is seeking to freeze fighting in Ukraine over the winter to build up its forces for a new assault in the spring.
The frontline in Ukraine has stabilised since Kyiv’s forces liberated the city of Kherson and surrounding areas on the western bank of the Dnieper River last month.
The heaviest fighting is currently concentrated around the eastern town of Bakhmut, which Russian forces have been trying to take for months.
2. Poland accepts German Patriot defence system after a back-and-forth
In a U-turn, Poland’s defence minister has confirmed that the country will deploy the German Patriot air defence system on its territory.
Berlin had offered the weapons to Warsaw last month after a stray missile — believed to be Ukrainian — crashed and killed two people in eastern Poland.
The Polish government then asked Germany to send the units to Ukraine instead.
Germany refused, saying the Patriot system was part of NATO’s integrated air defence and could only be deployed on NATO territory.
“After talking to the German Defense Ministry, I was disappointed to accept the decision to reject Ukraine’s support,” Mariusz Blaszczak wrote on Twitter on Tuesday.
“So we proceed to working arrangements regarding the placement of the launchers in Poland and connecting them to our command system,” he added.
“Placing the Patriots in western Ukraine would increase the security of Poles and Ukrainians.”
Poland’s initial move to reject Germany’s offer had threatened to cause tensions between the neighbouring NATO allies.
Poland’s ruling conservative party faced significant criticism from politicians and commentators for potentially risking the nation’s security amid the Ukraine war and seeking to stir up anti-German sentiment ahead of next year’s election.
Pawel Kowal, an opposition lawmaker, said the government’s back and forth didn’t look serious.
“How is Poland to be taken seriously with such a government? We take Patriots — we don’t take — we take …” he wrote on Twitter after Blaszczak’s announcement. “But pressure makes sense. So do the polls on German patriots. Poland will be safer with them.”
On Tuesday, the US also approved the sale of advanced Abrams Battle Tanks, other combat vehicles, and assorted weaponry to Poland worth around $4 billion (€3.8 billion).
The US State Department said the equipment would “improve Poland’s capability to meet current and future threats by providing a credible force that is capable of deterring adversaries and participating in NATO operations”.
NATO countries have already supplied Ukraine with billions of euros worth of weapons, including modern air defence systems, but have avoided sending the long-range Patriot system.
3. Ukrainians are suffering ‘colossal’ torment, says UN aid chief
The United Nations humanitarian chief has decried the “colossal” torment Ukraine is suffering from “senseless war”.
Martin Griffiths said “the widespread death, displacement and suffering” in Ukraine following the invasion had been exacerbated by recent strikes on the country’s energy infrastructure.
Over 14 million people are now forcibly displaced from their homes, including 7.8 million living across Europe and 6.5 million still within the country, he said.
At least 17,023 civilians have also been killed, including 419 children, according to the UN human rights office.
Russian forces killed at least 441 civilians in the early days of the invasion, it added in a report.
“There are strong indications that the summary executions documented in the report constitute the war crime of wilful killing,” UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said. Russia has always denied allegations of war crimes.
Millions still in the country have been left without heat, electricity, and water in sub-freezing temperatures this winter, Griffiths added.
This year, the UN humanitarian appeal for 2023 is a record $51.5 billion (€49.6 billion), up 25% from 2022.
His words were echoed by the United States and its Western allies at a UN Security Council meeting on Tuesday but were strongly opposed by Russia.
Russia’s UN ambassador, Vassily Nebenzia, has insisted that the country will continue conducting “precision strikes” and claimed civilian infrastructure wouldn’t suffer if Ukraine had not placed air defence systems in residential areas.
Nebenzia told the UN Security Council that “we confirm our willingness to conduct negotiations” and that “the aim would be to eradicate the root causes that forced us to start our special military operation in Ukraine.”
“Ukraine needs peace and Ukraine wants peace, more than any other country. It is our territory that has been invaded,” Ukraine’s UN Ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsya replied.
“Please keep this in mind every time Moscow attempts to … persuade us that it is not the aggressor, but the victim who resists peace efforts.”
Deputy US Ambassador to the United Nations, Lisa Carty, also told the 15-member council that “President [Vladimir] Putin’s escalating barrages on Ukraine’s infrastructure are evidence that he has no genuine interest in negotiation or meaningful diplomacy.”
4. Several killed in a road accident involving a Russian army truck
At least 16 people have died after a Russian army vehicle collided with a minibus in eastern Ukraine, local authorities said.
Denis Pushilin, the Russian-appointed head of the Donetsk region, said the accident occurred near the towns of Torez and Shakhtiorsk.
“This tragedy cost the lives of 16 people, including some of our defenders,” Pushilin wrote on Telegram.
It was unclear whether the death toll included soldiers or civilians on board the minibus. Four other people were injured in the collision.
Donetsk is one of the four regions of southeastern Ukraine that was annexed by Moscow in September, a move that has been slammed by Kyiv and its western allies.
