After days of speculation about his health, ruler Alexander Lukashenko has reappeared in Belarus at an appointment with the military. State television in Minsk showed the 68-year-old in a military green uniform on Monday. Previously, there had been reports of an illness and an alleged hospital stay of the politician, who had disappeared from the scene for days. It is not possible to independently verify whether the footage from Belarusian state television is actually up-to-date.

"Let's look at what is happening around our country, especially in the air," Lukashenko said. He then went directly to the shooting down of helicopters and planes in the Bryansk region on the border with Ukraine and Belarus, which has not even been confirmed by the Russian leadership. The events in the Russian region on Saturday have put Belarus on high alert, Lukashenko said.

Lukashenko comments on current events

"Four planes were shot down. We had to react to it. Since then, we have been in heightened readiness," he said. The Russian authorities had so far only confirmed the "crash" of a helicopter, but did not give any details. On the other hand, Russian media reported that two Sukhoi Su-34 and Su-35 fighter jets and two Mi-8 helicopters with missiles had been shot down.

Lukashenko, who supports Russia in the war against Ukraine, said that the planes and helicopters had been shot down. On the other hand, the Ukrainian Air Force denied responsibility on Sunday, claiming that the Russian air defense itself had shot down its technology. There were also three, and not just two, helicopters taken out of the sky. According to information from Kyiv, the fighter jets were to be used for new attacks against Ukraine.

A total of at least nine people are said to have been killed in the crashes. There was no official information on this. There was also no comment from the Russian Defense Ministry, which is also conducting its attacks against Ukraine from the area.