MOSCOW—Belarus’ leader Alexander Lukashenko ordered on Friday the full closure of Belarus’ border with neighboring Ukraine, citing security reasons, BelTA state news agency reported.
Lukashenko told a gathering marking the country’s Independence Day that rebel groups that were planning to carry out a coup were uncovered in Belarus, BelTA reported.
“A huge amount of weapons is coming from Ukraine to Belarus. That’s why I ordered border-security forces to fully close the border with Ukraine,” Lukashenko said.
Belarus’ stand-off with the West intensified recently after it scrambled a warplane to force a Ryanair flight to land in order to arrest a government critic who was on the aircraft. Western countries condemned this move and imposed sanctions to punish Belarus.
