General Ihor Romanenko, founder of the Safe Skies Over Ukraine charity fund and former Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces (2006–2010), shared his views with Espreso TV.“The introduction of martial law in Belarus could be a way to prepare Belarusian society for extremely dangerous developments,” Romanenko said. “It’s one thing to hold joint military exercises with Russia in September, but it’s quite another to use those exercises as cover to launch military operations in northern Ukraine and open a new front.”He added that the recent meeting in Valdai was likely not just for Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko to echo Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s calls for peace and an end to attacks on critical fuel and lubricant infrastructure — which are particularly painful for Moscow.“It’s clear they are trying to shape the information space in advance of possible hostilities in northern Ukraine. And while Ukraine is preparing, we must understand that the opening of a northern front would still pose a serious challenge,” Romanenko said.According to him, only Ukraine's Defense Intelligence can answer the question of whether the Belarusian army will be involved in an attack on Ukraine, but the likelihood of this is quite high.“There is a possibility that the Belarusian army will also be involved in this attack. Although Lukashenko promised that Belarusian territory would not be used for an offensive against Ukraine, the Russians may again launch an attack from the north. Today, the question remains whether Putin will be able to directly involve Lukashenko in this war,” he concluded.On July 20, the State Border Service of Ukraine stated that there was no concentration of troops on the border with Belarus.On August 1, it became known that Belarus had begun forming a new special operations forces brigade in the Gomel region, which borders Ukraine.On August 3, 2025, the Belarusian opposition Telegram channel Belamova reported that local residents had seen and photographed at least two unusual armored personnel carriers on the streets of Gomel (Belarus), near the border with Ukraine. Both vehicles were carrying military personnel and had large bright red markings.