The Daily Populous Thursday June 25th, 2026 night edition
Authored by kyivindependent.com and submitted by mvanigan

Communications equipment that Ukraine says was helping support Russian drone strikes from Belarusian territory has stopped operating, President Volodymyr Zelensky told reporters on June 24, days after issuing an ultimatum to Belarusian ruler Alexander Lukashenko.

The development follows Zelensky's warning to Minsk that Belarus had one week to remove the equipment or face unspecified action from Ukraine.

"According to the information I received... the equipment stopped operating on the Belarusian territory as of June 22," Zelensky said. "Whether it has been dismantled or not, I honestly don't know yet."

"The fact is that, as of today, the equipment is no longer operating."

The Ukrainian president previously said the systems consisted of relay equipment mounted on communications towers and were being used to support Russian drone attacks against Ukraine.

Russia's Shahed-type attack drones are known to rely on radio communications networks and ground-based infrastructure to navigate during long-range strikes.

Ukrainian border guards have recorded a drop in the number of Russian attack drones entering northern Chernihiv Oblast, while large Shahed drone raids along the Belarus-Ukraine border have ceased, State Border Guard spokesperson Andrii Demchenko said on June 24.

Lukashenko, who has ruled Belarus since 1994, remains one of Moscow's closest allies and has provided political and military support to Russia throughout its full-scale war against Ukraine.

Following Zelensky's ultimatum, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov accused Kyiv of displaying "aggression" and violating Belarus's sovereignty.

The Kremlin also said on June 22 that Russian President Vladimir Putin and Lukashenko planned to meet in the near future to discuss Zelensky's warning to Minsk.

ArgentineBeauty on June 24th, 2026 at 16:46 UTC »

Ukraine gave Belarus a week.

Belarus apparently didn't spend the whole week thinking about it.

Shows how the tide is turning in this war 🇺🇦

2EscapedCapybaras on June 24th, 2026 at 16:37 UTC »

Lukashenko isn't stupid. He has put off Putin's attempts to get him into the war since day one.

Virtual-History-6099 on June 24th, 2026 at 16:32 UTC »

Threats which actually have an effect because they're made by someone who walks the walk. Zelensky is someone taco will never be.