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Editor's note: Belarus' military later confirmed downing a drone that had violated Belarusian airspace on Sept. 5, but did not describe the drone as Russian.
The Belarusian Air Force downed two Russian attack drones on Sept. 5 near the Belarusian city of Homel, the monitoring group Belarusian Hajun claimed.
If confirmed, this would be the first confirmation of a successful interception of Russian drones by Belarusian forces over the country's airspace.
Previously, a Belarusian fighter jet attempted to down a Russian Shahed-type drone that flew into the country's airspace on Aug. 29 - although there was no confirmation that Belarus was successful in downing the drone.
The Kyiv Independent could not immediately verify the claims made by the monitoring group.
While Russian attack drones have reportedly veered off course toward Belarus during air raids on Ukraine on multiple occasions, this would be the first known case of a Belarusian Air Force plane successfully shooting down one of them.
Russia launched another large-scale drone attack on Ukraine overnight on Sept. 5, targeting multiple regions of the country, Ukraine's Air Force said.
Multiple Belarusian fighter jets were scrambled to intercept the drones near the city of Gomel around 1:30 a.m. local time, Belaruski Hajun claimed. The city lies within about 30 km of the Ukraine-Belarus border.
A third Russian attack drone allegedly entered Belarusian airspace around 2:30 a.m., although no additional information was provided on its status.
Purported videos of falling drone debris over the skies of Gomel could be seen on social media.
The incident marks the second time in the past week that Belarusian fighter jets were scrambled to protect the country's airspace.
During Russia's large-scale attack on Ukraine on Sept. 4, one Russian drone veered off course into Belarus. On Aug. 26, at least six Russian drones reportedly entered the Belarusian airspace during another mass attack on Ukraine.
The Belarusian Defense Ministry has not commented on the alleged incident.
Minsk has never publicly raised objections to Moscow – its key ally – over the reported drone incursions into its territory.
Instead, Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko alleged that his country's forces downed several Ukrainian drones over its airspace, a claim denied by Belarusian Hajun.
The statement came amid surging tensions between Belarus and Ukraine as the Belarusian military moved a significant force to the border, allegedly for exercises.
While supporting Russian aggression against Kyiv, the Belarusian Armed Forces have not taken a direct part in the war.
Oleg Sukhov
