Ukrainian officials warn Russian jets targeted Belarusian targets in potential false-flag operation

Ukrainian officials warned on Friday that Russian aircraft fired on civilian targets on the Belarusian side of the border, launching the attack from Ukrainian air space in an attempt to drag Minsk into the Kremlin’s deadly war against Ukraine.

According to a Ukrainian Air Force report, the border authorities learned that Russian jets took off from an airfield in Belarus at 2:30 p.m. local time, crossed into Ukrainian air space and then fired at the Belarusian village of Kopani, Radio Free Europe reported. 

"This is a PROVOCATION! The goal is to involve the Armed Forces of the Republic of Belarus in the war with Ukraine!," Ukraine's Air Force Command said in an online statement.

The Ukrainian military said two other Belarusian towns were also targeted during the operation.

"We officially declare: the Ukrainian military has not planned and does not plan to take any aggressive action against the Republic of Belarus," the security service said in a statement.

The Ukrainian Parliament’s official Twitter account also warned of the alleged Russian false-flag operation and claimed that Russian troops were attempting to overrun Kopani.

As of now, 9th dettachment of boarder guards is observing how the enemy is trying to occupy the town!#StopRussia #StopPutin @EmmanuelMacron @vonderleyen @eucopresident @EP_Edinburgh @EU_Commission @Europarl_EN @UN @NATO @OlafScholz @BorisJohnson @AndrzejDuda

— Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine (@ua_parliament) March 11, 2022

Belarusian Defense Ministry spokesperson Ina Harbachova denied Ukraine’s claim that Russia had targeted civilian targets, however.

"The Defense Ministry unequivocally states that the information about a missile strike at a Belarusian village is nonsense," Harbachova said.

Reports of the potential false-flag operation came just hours after Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka – who has been one of the Kremlin’s closest allies throughout the conflict -- met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.

Ukrainian officials have continued to urge Belarus to practice restraint and stay out of the conflict. In a statement released on Telegram, Ukraine’s security service stated, “We officially declare: The Ukrainian military has not planned and does not plan to take any aggressive action against the Republic of Belarus.”

“We appeal to the Belarusian people: Do not let yourself be used in a criminal war!” it added