Report: Belarus’ Lukashenko Says Nearly a Third of Army Sent to Ukraine Border

In this pool photograph distributed on July 26, 2024, by Russian state owned Sputnik agency Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko holds a candle as he visits Valaam Monastery with the Russian President, in northern Russia on July 25, 2024. (AFP)
In this pool photograph distributed on July 26, 2024, by Russian state owned Sputnik agency Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko holds a candle as he visits Valaam Monastery with the Russian President, in northern Russia on July 25, 2024. (AFP)
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Report: Belarus’ Lukashenko Says Nearly a Third of Army Sent to Ukraine Border

In this pool photograph distributed on July 26, 2024, by Russian state owned Sputnik agency Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko holds a candle as he visits Valaam Monastery with the Russian President, in northern Russia on July 25, 2024. (AFP)
In this pool photograph distributed on July 26, 2024, by Russian state owned Sputnik agency Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko holds a candle as he visits Valaam Monastery with the Russian President, in northern Russia on July 25, 2024. (AFP)

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said on Sunday that Ukraine had stationed more than 120,000 troops at its border with Belarus and Minsk had deployed nearly a third of its armed forces along the entire border, the Belta state news agency reported.

He did not say exactly how many troops were deployed. Belarus' professional army has about 48,000 troops and around 12,000 state border troops, according to the 2022 International Institute for Strategic Studies' Military Balance.

"Seeing their aggressive policy, we have introduced there and placed in certain points - in case of war, they would be defense - our military along the entire border," Belta cited Lukashenko as saying in an interview with Russian state television.

Kyiv did not immediately respond to a Reuters' request for comment. On Saturday Kyiv said it had seen no signs of a Belarusian troop buildup at the border.

The Belarusian leader, a staunch ally of Vladimir Putin, was speaking against the backdrop of a Ukrainian incursion into Russia that began on Aug. 6 when thousands of Kyiv's troops smashed through Russia's western border in a major embarrassment for Putin's top military brass.

Belarusian Defense Minister Viktor Khrenin said on Friday there was a high probability of an armed provocation from neighboring Ukraine and that the situation at their shared border "remains tense".

Lukashenko said the Belarusian-Ukrainian border is mined "as never before" and that Ukrainian troops would incur huge losses if they tried to cross it.



Protest Against Gaza War Prevents Israeli Visitors from Touring Greek Island

Two empty chairs stand on a beach as people cool off during a heat wave, near Athens, Greece, 22 July 2025. (EPA)
Two empty chairs stand on a beach as people cool off during a heat wave, near Athens, Greece, 22 July 2025. (EPA)
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Protest Against Gaza War Prevents Israeli Visitors from Touring Greek Island

Two empty chairs stand on a beach as people cool off during a heat wave, near Athens, Greece, 22 July 2025. (EPA)
Two empty chairs stand on a beach as people cool off during a heat wave, near Athens, Greece, 22 July 2025. (EPA)

A cruise ship carrying Israeli tourists left the Greek island of Syros Tuesday without its passengers disembarking, after more than 150 protesters demonstrated at the island’s port, unfurling Palestinian flags and calling for an end to the war in Gaza.

Carrying banners that read: “Stop the Genocide” and “No a/c in hell” — a reference to the conditions Palestinians face in the Gaza Strip — the protesters chanted slogans on the dock near where the cruise ship, the Crown Iris, was docked on Tuesday, local media said. There were no reports of any violence.

The ship is operated by an Israeli company, Mano Cruise, which said about 1,700 passengers were on board and it is sailing to Cyprus.

Greece’s coast guard said the ship set sail at around 3 p.m., earlier than originally scheduled, but did not immediately have any further details.

“The management of Mano Cruise has decided in light of the situation in the city of Syros to now sail to another tourist destination,” the company said in a press release. “All passengers and crew members are resting and spending time on the ship on their way to the new destination.”

Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar contacted his Greek counterpart, George Gerapetritis, over the incident, the Greek foreign ministry confirmed. It did not release any details of their discussion.