On Thursday, June 25, a new wave of rumors erupted in the information space regarding a violation of Ukraine's airspace. The popular flight tracking service Flightradar24 displayed a route that, seemingly, indicated that a Belarusian Airlines cargo plane, an Il-62, had taken off towards the Chernihiv region and then allegedly crossed the Ukrainian-Moldovan border control.
However, this alarming news was quickly debunked. Advisor to the Minister of Defense of Ukraine, Serhiy "Flash" Beskrestnov, stated that the information about the incursion of a Belarusian airliner is false. According to him, the Air Traffic Control Center received data from the military: no Belarusian Airlines aircraft crossed the state border of Ukraine.
System error or intentional disinformation?
The expert suggested that the route displayed on the Flightradar24 map was the result of a technical system error. "This information does not correspond to reality," Beskrestnov emphasized in his Telegram channel. "No aircraft entered Ukrainian airspace."
The situation with false tracks on flight maps is not unique to the current period. Amidst high tension, any anomalies in the operation of navigation systems are instantly interpreted as potential threats or military provocations.
Context: previous incidents and infrastructure
The events of June 25 partially echo an incident that occurred on September 29, 2024. At that time, the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported a probable incursion of a Belarusian trainer-combat aircraft, a Yak-130, into Ukrainian airspace. This case caused alarm in Kyiv and the northern regions of the country, with experts considering it a possible provocation organized by Russia with the participation of Belarus.
In addition to airspace incidents, attention is also being paid to ground infrastructure. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy previously reported that recently, repeaters located on the territory of Belarus, which were previously used by Russia to control "Shahed" kamikaze drones during strikes on Ukrainian cities, have stopped working.
At the same time, according to the head of state, under the influence of Russia, infrastructure construction continues in Belarus in close proximity to the Ukrainian border, which remains a subject of close attention for Ukrainian authorities and the military.