Record number of Russian drones enter Belarusian airspace at start of 2025
In the early hours of January 1, 2025, at precisely 02:17, the first drone of the new year ventured into Belarus via Komaryn, subsequently heading towards Bragin where it disappeared. The Telegram channel Belaruski Hajun reports that between December 31 and January 3, at least 25 Russian drones entered Belarusian airspace from Ukraine. Notably, 13 drones did so on New Year's Eve.
According to sources, on December 31, eight drones infiltrated Belarus, mostly navigating through a Belarusian corridor before returning to Ukraine. These activities commenced from midnight, with the final drone of 2024 observed at 09:54 over Nova Huta. It progressed towards Terekhivka before exiting to Russia. Furthermore, at 09:27 on the same day, a missile crossed the skies above Khotsimsk district in Belarus, reportedly launched from Russia's Smolensk region targeting Ukraine.
During the night transition to 2025, Belarus saw the illegal entry of 13 more Russian drones. The first for the year entered at 02:17 via Komaryn and set a course for Bragin, while the last intrusion occurred at 07:23. The early hours of January 3 witnessed the entrance of a minimum of four additional drones between 03:49 and 06:05, with a drone recorded at 06:02 journeying through Loyew and advancing towards Khoiniki en route to Mozyr.
The monitoring group noted a lack of Belarusian Air Force activity on December 31, January 1, and January 3 during these drone incursions. This absence of aerial activity has persisted since December 20. Additionally, on December 25, an Il-76 aircraft belonging to Russian Aerospace Forces arrived at Machulishchy from Russia, only to depart back to Moscow the same day.