 Varghna's threat to Ukraine from the territory of Belarus is increasing. Belarus might deploy up to 8,000 Varghna troop mercenaries on its territory, but Ukraine's defence forces are aware of this possibility and the additional threat it poses and are prepared to respond accordingly. Andriy Demchenko, spokesman for Ukraine's State Border Guard Service, said it in a comment for Ukraine Ska Pravda. Demchenko explained that the situation on the Ukrainian-Belarusian border is entirely under Ukraine's control. There are currently no Russian offensive units in Belarus. However, Russia continues to use Belarus as a training ground for its forces and to launch airstrikes on Ukraine. Demchenko said that Ukraine is strengthening its defence capability in the north, in light of the possible new threats posed by the Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko's preparedness to deploy private military company mercenaries in Belarus. Demchenko added that the developments in Belarus are being constantly monitored. He said that the information available, including open source information, indicates that Belarus is currently undertaking efforts to accommodate Russian Varghna group fighters. Given Belarusian support for Russia, Belarus might be prepared to house a significant number of Russian mercenaries as many as 8,000. For comparison, there are currently around 2,000 soldiers from the Russian Regular Army in Belarus, according to the State Border Guard's data. Although the Varghna group camps are being set up relatively far from the Ukrainian border, the presence of Varghna mercenaries in Belarus will pose an additional threat to Ukraine, particularly in terms of potential sabotage operations and various other provocations. Demchenko stressed.