Lukashenko orders the closure of the border between Belarus and Ukraine

MOSCOW (Reuters)-The Belarusian State News Agency reported that the leader of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, ordered the closure of the border with Ukraine on Friday in an attempt to prevent the flow of his so-called weapons into coup planners discovered by his security services.

The move seemed to deepen the confrontation between Belarus and external forces, as the Belarusian government forced the grounding of Ryanair’s flights in May and arrested a government critic on the plane.

Western countries have imposed sanctions on Belarus to punish its actions, and the European Union and Ukraine have also banned flights registered in Belarus from entering their airspace.

Lukashenko has repeatedly accused Western ill-founders of trying to oust him. He said that in Belarus, a rebel group planning to launch a coup has been discovered.

According to Bela News Agency, the senior leader said in a speech at a rally to commemorate the country’s Independence Day that Germany, Lithuania, Poland, Ukraine and the United States are behind the so-called insurgency.

“A lot of weapons are being shipped from Ukraine to Belarus. That’s why I ordered the border security forces to completely close the border with Ukraine,” Lukashenko said.

Belarus borders Ukraine in the south. It borders Poland and Lithuania to the west, Latvia to the north, and Russia to the east.

After Brussels imposed economic sanctions, Belarus closed its border with Ukraine a few days after recalling its permanent representative to the EU for consultations.

However, rating agencies and analysts said that Lukashenko was also subject to Western sanctions due to total political repression. He was basically not punished and was able to continue to provide funds for the economy and his security forces.