Sawt Falasteen - Belarus and Ukraine face off across 'tense' border crossing

Next to the Ukrainian colours, another flag could be seen in a sign of defiance -- the white and red used by the suppressed Belarusian opposition.

Like all other checkpoints between Kremlin-aligned Belarus and its neighbour to the south, the crossing has been shut for a year after Russian forces poured over the border to attack Ukraine.

Now, fears are mounting that Belarus could enter the conflict despite assurances from its president, Alexander Lukashenko, that this would only happen in the event of aggression from the Ukrainian side.

Belarusian guards in the village of Dzivin, often referred to as Divin, said they were on standby, claiming the other side had staged several "provocations."

"There are attempts to bring the Belarusian side into this conflict," Belarusian border guard spokesman Anton Bychkovsky said.

"We are doing everything not to be dragged into some border incidents."

He said the situation was "controlled but tense".

- No-man's-land -

Authorities in the reclusive country, ruled by Lukashenko since 1994, showed AFP the Dzivin border checkpoint as part of a tightly controlled press tour.

Belarus has been virtually closed to foreign media since Lukashenko suppressed protests against his rule in 2020.

The checkpoint is in a rural area of southwest Belarus, far from the fighting in Ukraine.

At the crossing, with a deserted no-man's-land between the two sides, the prospect of tensions easing any time soon seems remote.

All 13 crossing points by road have been closed across the Ukraine-Belarus border, stretching more than 1,000 kilometres (621 miles).

There are also increased controls in border zones, with a checkpoint set up outside Dzivin where only locals can enter without permission.

For Ukrainians who want to get into Belarus, the only way is through Poland.

Belarusian border guards said around 7,600 Ukrainians have entered Belarus since the start of this year, mostly in transit seeking to get to Russia.

- 'Start negotiating' -

Ever since Belarus allowed its territory to be used as a staging point for Russia's offensive, there have been concerns in both Belarus and Ukraine that the two countries could go to war.

Lukashenko is largely reliant on Russian President Vladimir Putin for political and economic support.

Minsk still hosts an unspecified number of Russian troops and has set up a joint regional force with Moscow.

The allies also held shared air force drills that ended on February 1.

In this context, analysts say any hope of winding down tensions between Belarus and Ukraine is improbable.

At the Dzivin crossing, around 500 cars once passed between southwest Belarus and northwest Ukraine.

But now contact between Belarusian and Ukrainian border forces has "completely stopped", Bychkovsky said.

Asked about the day Russia attacked Ukraine in February last year, he paused and said: "Like all the international community, that day we realised that politicians need to finally sit down at the table and start negotiating."

B.AbuZeid--SF-PST