Belarus is setting up a military training ground near the border with Ukraine
In the Gomel Region of Belarus, near the Yakimovka station, a new military training ground is being built with railway infrastructure capable of facilitating the rapid movement of heavy equipment. The facility is located approximately 40 km from the Ukrainian border, and its construction is confirmed by satellite imagery and government procurement data.
According to project documentation obtained by the Belarusian Railway Workers’ Union, a separate railway infrastructure is being designed near the village of Yakymivka for the facility, officially titled “Construction of a Training Ground in the Gomel Region.”
The “Military Design Institute” is listed as the client. The project includes a separate access track designed for 60 railcars and a freight platform with a ramp for unloading wheeled and tracked vehicles.
The exact location of the new landfill is not yet known.
It is known that since late 2023, large-scale construction has been underway near Gomel on a new military base, where the 37th Separate Airborne Assault Brigade of the Belarusian Special Operations Forces is likely to be deployed.
The government of Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko established this brigade in 2025 to “strengthen the southern sector”—allegedly to defend against threats from Ukraine.
The eastern part of the new facility is marked on Belarus’s official cadastral maps as a “military town,” while the western part is marked as a “training and tactical field.”
In June 2026, media outlets reported that construction of some facilities at the new military town had been completed. Construction of railroad tracks is currently underway.
Source: Radio Free Europe
Belarus has begun forming a new 37th Separate Airborne Assault Brigade, which will be stationed near Gomel—approximately 40 kilometers from the border with Ukraine. Alexander Ilyukevich, commander of the Special Operations Forces of the Belarusian Armed Forces, announced this on the Belarusian military television channel.
As a reminder, Lukashenko stated that Belarusian military personnel would not take part in the war against Ukraine.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte stated that one should not be naive about Belarus’s role in Russia’s war against Ukraine. According to him, Minsk is under Moscow’s strong influence, and most of the Belarusian government’s decisions are effectively dictated by the Kremlin.
