Ukraine says Russia fired at Belarus from Ukrainian airspace to drag it into war

A Ukrainian serviceman looks on the debris of Russian fighter-bomber aircraft Su-34 in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on March 8, 2022. PHOTO: EPA-EFE

LVIV, UKRAINE (REUTERS) - Ukraine's armed forces said Russian aircraft fired at a Belarusian settlement near the border with Ukraine from Ukrainian air space on Friday (March 11) to try to drag Belarus into Moscow's war on Ukraine.

The Ukrainian air force said at 2.30pm (8.30pm Singapore time) that the state border service received information that Russian aircraft had taken off from an airfield in Belarus, crossed into Ukrainian air space and then fired at the village of Kopani.

"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 settlements were also targeted in the same 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.

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