Warnings before "new Zhytkavichy". Kyiv wrongly sees a threat in the construction of bridges over Pripyat and Mukhavets
Ukrainian intelligence drew attention to the large-scale reconstruction of crossings in southern Belarus, seeing in it a threat of a new invasion. However, this development is dictated not by the interests of the Russian army, but by the critical dilapidation of Soviet infrastructure and the solution of long-standing logistical problems.
The President of Ukraine believes that road construction in Belarus is being carried out in the interests of the army. Photo: Volodymyr Zelenskyy's Facebook
Recently, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy referred to a report by acting head of the Foreign Intelligence Service Oleh Luhovsky, according to which suspiciously active infrastructure development is underway along the Ukrainian border in Belarus. Zelenskyy listed specific directions: Kobryn — Kovel, Yanova — Manievichy, Luninets — Sarny, Rechytsa — Korosten and Homel — Chernihiv. Road infrastructure construction is allegedly nearing completion there, which, according to the Ukrainian leader, "has no other meaning than military".
However, residents of southern Belarus believe that the reason for this construction boom lies not in offensive plans, but in the accumulated problems of Belarus's own infrastructure.
Development of military and transport infrastructure in Belarus. Photo: Volodymyr Zelenskyy's Facebook
Development of transport infrastructure in southern Belarus. Photo: Volodymyr Zelenskyy's Facebook
Warnings before "new Zhytkavichy"
The reason why authorities suddenly began investing massively in bridges should be sought in the last decade. In December 2017, a supporting slab of the only bridge for a hundred kilometers over the Pripyat in the Zhytkavichy district broke. For safety reasons, traffic had to be completely stopped, and a huge region was instantly cut off from normal logistics. To get from Turau to Zhytkavichy, local residents and enterprises had to make a detour through Mazyr or Pinsk, about 250 kilometers long.
Bridge over Pripyat in Zhytkavichy district. Photo: Sb.by
In 2017, a crack in the bridge over the Pripyat in the Zhytkavichy district led to a transport collapse and forced authorities to begin a total inspection of road infrastructure. Photo: onliner.by
This local transport collapse was a real cold shower for the authorities: an emergency diagnosis across the country revealed that hundreds of transport facilities were on the verge of collapse.
The main problem was a Soviet design flaw. In the 1960s-1980s, a whole series of large crossings were built in the BSSR using the then-innovative technology of precast-box structures with glued joints. Decades and the climate took their toll: the glue lost its properties, moisture entered the joints, and the reinforcement began to rust, literally destroying the concrete from within. The structures in Babruysk, Navapolatsk, and on the M8 highway near Homel turned out to be exact "twins" of the Zhytkavichy bridge. All of them required urgent and expensive reconstruction.
Demolition of the emergency bridge in Zhytkavichy district. Photo: aif.by
The second fatal factor is the critical increase in loads. Most Belarusian bridges were designed half a century ago according to the Soviet H-18 standard, which calculated for columns of 18-ton vehicles. Today, modern commercial trucks weighing 40-50 tons are massively using the same roads. A twofold exceeding of calculated indicators led to the "fatigue" of materials occurring much earlier than the planned lifespan.
Regular incidents, such as the collapse of the bridge over the Rova River near Barysaŭ or the fall of a part of the overpass on Niamiha in Minsk in early 2022, finally showed the scale and priority of the problem.
The collapse of a part of the overpass in the center of Minsk in early 2022 only emphasized the existence of a major problem with the dilapidation of transport infrastructure in Belarus. Photo: Ministry of Emergency Situations of Belarus
To solve it, back in April 2021 — almost a year before the start of the full-scale war in Ukraine — the government approved the state program "Roads of Belarus" for 2021-2025. It included 32 of the country's most critical bridges and overpasses that required immediate intervention.
Among them, by the way, was the bridge between Vetka and Khalch, which today concerns the Ukrainian authorities.
However, time has shown that this was just the tip of the iceberg. In autumn 2024, Vice Prime Minister Anatoly Sivak officially acknowledged that about 800 bridge structures throughout the country had completely exhausted their resource. The new version of the state program for 2026-2030 already includes almost 468 objects: 288 bridges on republican highways and 180 on local ones.
At the same time, of the 180 local bridges, only 18 and 7 objects fall to Homel and Brest regions respectively, while in Minsk region they plan to reconstruct 75 crossings, and in the northern Vitsebsk region - 39.
European investments: interchange near Rechytsa
Construction of a cloverleaf interchange at the intersection of M10 and P33 highways near Rechytsa. March 2026. Photo: Google Earth
The Ukrainian intelligence report, among others, mentions the Rechytsa — Korosten direction. The most notable infrastructure object in this area today is the large-scale reconstruction of the M10 highway and the construction of a new interchange at its intersection with the P33 road.
The P33 highway indeed leads from Rechytsa south, towards Khoiniki, through which one can exit to the Polesian State Radiation-Ecological Reserve, to Brahin and Kamaryn — that is, also to the Ukrainian border.
It was precisely this direct road, with the erection of a pontoon bridge in the Polesian Reserve, that the Russian army used in February 2022. However, it is unclear what advantages a more developed interchange in this location would have for the Russian army.
Roundabout at the intersection of M10 and P33 highways near Rechytsa. 2020. Photo: Google Earth
However, the transformation of a conventional roundabout into a modern "cloverleaf" type interchange was conceived as early as 2015-2016. At that time, the modernization of an 85-kilometer section of the M10 highway from Rechytsa to Kalinkavichy was chosen as Belarus's first-ever pilot public-private partnership project. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) was supposed to finance the large-scale construction.
Interchange project in the documentation of the M10 highway reconstruction pilot project. 2017.
The section of M10 where the pilot project was to be implemented is shown on the map with the justification of the project's significance. 2019.
Scheme of the M10 highway section where the pilot project was to be implemented. The interchange at the intersection with the P33 highway is shown on the far right. 2019.
In March 2017, the parties prepared an official information memorandum. The document even contains a precise diagram of that very interchange at the 109th kilometer.
The project was developed jointly with European consultants five years before Russian troops began to gather at the Ukrainian borders.
Implementation of the plan slowed down exclusively for political reasons. After the 2020 crisis and the start of the war in 2022, Western financial institutions curtailed cooperation with Minsk, and soon the Eurasian Development Bank also refused to lend.
Construction of a cloverleaf interchange at the intersection of M10 and P33 highways near Rechytsa. November 2025. Photo: BelTA
As a result, Belarusian authorities had to radically revise the project and seek funds from their own budget. The active construction phase began only in 2025. Now the road is being widened to four lanes and durable cement concrete pavement is being laid, and the first 17-kilometer section is planned to open as early as September 2026.
Bridge over the Dnieper, which waited ten years for repair
Another object, which is part of the M10 highway reconstruction and has attracted the attention of Ukrainian special services, is the bridge over the Dnieper in Rechytsa district.
Double bridge over the Dnieper in Rechytsa district. The right side (northern bridge) was closed as early as 2017, and the left (southern) two-lane side became a "bottleneck" on the four-lane M10 highway for ten years. 2022. Photo: Google Earth
Exit from the right side of the M10 highway to the left two-lane side of the bridge over the Dnieper, organized after the closure of the right side. May 2018. Photo: Google Earth
The M10 highway runs through the entire Belarusian Polesia, so any transport routes from central Belarus to Ukraine either follow it or cross it. Of course, this highway can also be used for aggression against Ukraine, but there is a more pragmatic reason.
The point is that the crossing over the Dnieper at this location consisted of two bridges. The northern one (officially called the right side), narrower and built back in 1958, fell into such a catastrophic state that it was officially closed and conserved as early as 2017. Satellite images from 2018 show that there was no passage over this bridge at that time, and traffic flow was redirected to the southern bridge via a special exit.
During the reconstruction of the left side of the bridge over the Dnieper, only one lane for vehicle traffic remained. Photo: Homielskaya Praŭda
The two-lane southern bridge consequently became a real "bottleneck" on the four-lane M10 highway — therefore, the restoration of the northern bridge is a long overdue logistical necessity.
Moreover, in 2023, it was discovered that the left side of the bridge also had critical problems that required reconstruction while maintaining traffic in only one lane. And this on a four-lane international highway!
In April 2025, the reconstruction of the left side was completed, allowing the reconstruction of the right side, which had been closed for a decade, to begin in March 2026.
Reconstruction of the right side of the bridge over the Dnieper in Rechytsa district. Photo: BelTA
According to the state program "Roads of Belarus", after the completion of all works, a full-fledged four-lane autobahn with concrete pavement should appear here. Initially, the right bridge was planned to be commissioned as late as 2029, but during recent inspections, the Ministry of Transport set the task to accelerate and open traffic by the end of 2027.
Where the bridge in Vetka leads
Concern in Kyiv is also raised by the Homel — Chernihiv direction. Here, a new bridge is being built over the Sozh River between Vetka and Khalch village on the P30 highway.
Old bridge over Sozh between Khalch and Vetka. 2020. Photo: Google Earth
Indeed, suspicions about this construction could be raised by the fact that through Vetka one can reach Bryansk region of Russia in two ways. The first goes north along the P30 highway to Staŭbun village and further into Russian Krasnaya Gora, which is literally in the middle of nowhere, away from major highways and railways. The second way is more serious: south along the P124 road to Dobrush, from where a railway line and the M10 highway lead, which turns into the main transport artery of Bryansk region (A-240). It would seem, here it is — a ready corridor for transferring Russian troops.
The road from Vetka, which crosses the Sozh bridge, leads directly to the central streets of Homel. No bypass of Homel exists at this location. Photo: Openstreetmap
But if you look at the other side of the river, the P30 highway leads from Vetka directly to Homel. To get from this bridge to Ukrainian highways (for example, to Chernihiv), armored columns would have to drive straight through the central streets of the regional center or meander along unpaved village roads.
The point is that from the northeastern side, Homel has no hint of a bypass road. The military sense of the bridge in Vetka is relative.
At the same time, a normal bypass of Homel with direct access to Ukraine has long existed, but from the south. From the same Dobrush, the M10 highway makes a large arc, bypassing the regional center, and intersects with the M8 highway, which leads directly to Chernihiv. If Russian troops were coming from Bryansk region, they would use precisely this southern route. No one would make an incomprehensible detour north to Vetka just to cross a new bridge and then meander through the streets of Homel.
There are two roads from Russia to the bridge in Vetka: one from the south, passing through Dobrush, the other from the north, theoretically leading to Russian Krasnaya Gora, remote from road and rail arteries. Given that the road from Dobrush via the bypass leads directly to Ukraine, the military significance of the bridge in Vetka seems negligible. Photo: Openstreetmap
Much more suspicious for Ukrainian authorities should be the construction of the Eastern bypass in Homel. But this is a notorious long-term construction project, which began back in 2009, then was frozen due to lack of funding, and is now officially planned to be commissioned only in 2029.
New and old bridges over Sozh between Khalch and Vetka. After the opening of the new bridge, the old emergency crossing, built in 1968, will be dismantled. May 2026. Photo: BelTA / video screenshot
New bridge over Sozh between Khalch and Vetka. March 2026. Photo: BelTA
The real reason for the construction of the bridge in Vetka is physical wear. The old bridge, built in 1968, had long been in a pre-emergency state. In early 2023, traffic on it was critically restricted: cars were allowed in one lane by traffic light, and the passage of vehicles heavier than 5 tons was prohibited. Trucks had to make a detour of 50 kilometers. That is why the new object, about 540 meters long, began to be erected in 2024 parallel to the old one. As soon as the new crossing is commissioned (approximately in 2026), the old bridge will simply be dismantled.
"Road of Life" between Stolin and Luninets
A new road bridge over the Pripyat between Luninets and Stolin districts is being built next to the existing railway bridge, at the site of the old railway line (left). Today, the only crossing over the river in this location is a ferry in Korabye (right). 2020. Photo: Google Earth
Another allegedly military object is a new bridge over the Pripyat between Luninets and Stolin, the construction of which is being carried out under the Pripyat Polesia development program and is expected to be completed by 2027. The road bridge will appear near the existing railway bridge, at the same location where the first railway bridge once stood, which was demolished due to age.
For Ukrainian military personnel, a road crossing that leads directly to border town Stolin clearly looks like another potential invasion corridor. However, equipment can be moved there even without a road bridge — for this purpose, a railway line has long existed from Luninets directly to the Rechytsa station near Stolin.
Before the appearance of the new bridge, residents of Luninets and Stolin have to use the ferry crossing in Korabye or make a detour of 130 kilometers. Photo: zarya.by
The construction of a road bridge is a solution to a socio-logistical and, surprisingly, possibly a defensive problem for Belarus.
Today, the direct distance between Luninets and Stolin is only 46 kilometers, but they can only be traveled via a ferry crossing in Korabye village, which does not operate in winter and bad weather. Without it, one has to make a giant detour of 130 kilometers through Pinsk or 170 kilometers through Zhytkavichy. The collapse of the Zhytkavichy bridge in 2017 clearly showed that in case of an emergency, the entire Stolin district would instantly find itself in isolation.
Can this bridge be used by the military? Undoubtedly. But its primary need is also economic.
Construction of a bridge over the Pripyat between Luninets and Stolin districts. Photo: from social networks / video screenshot
Construction of a bridge over the Pripyat between Luninets and Stolin districts. Photo: BelTA
Border town Stolin appears from this perspective as one of the most vulnerable places, as the city is actually cut off from the main part of Belarus by swamps and the Pripyat River. Without a direct crossing, it would be logistically difficult to quickly move the Belarusian army there to defend the city or evacuate the population in the event of a hypothetical counterattack.
Kuzhalichynsky Bridge
The next object from the Ukrainian list is the Kuzhalichynsky bridge over the Dnieper-Bug Canal in Ivanava district, located at the 12th kilometer of the P144 highway. The road itself goes from the M10 highway directly to the Ukrainian border and the "Makhro" checkpoint. On the southern bank of the canal, there is indeed no city or large settlement — only a dozen ordinary villages and forests, where, until the early 1950s, Ukrainian Insurgent Army fighters waged guerrilla warfare with the support of local residents.
Kuzhalichynsky bridge. 2016. Photo: Google Earth
Indeed, it looks like an almost deserted transit corridor for transferring equipment to the south. Suspicions are reinforced by satellite images, which show the appearance of a "second" bridge next to the main one.
The bridge, built in 1983, was officially closed for major repairs on October 11, 2025. According to the object's passport, the old reinforced concrete spans will be replaced with modern metal ones, as the Soviet structures could no longer withstand the weight of modern transport.
Reconstruction of the bridge over the Dnieper-Bug Canal in Ivanava district. Photo: zarya.by
Sign for the temporary pontoon bridge set up nearby. Photo: zarya.by
Despite the absence of cities on that side of the river, the situation is in many ways similar to that of Stolin: the bridge has strategic importance, but it is also the only connection of Polesian villages with the "mainland", not counting two other ferry crossings that do not always operate. In bad weather, neither an ambulance nor a fire truck would be able to reach here without the bridge.
The bridge over the Dnieper-Bug Canal on the P144 highway remains the only land connection of the Makhroŭ rural council with the district center and the rest of Belarus. Photo: Openstreetmap
For the duration of the repair, so that people from the southern bank would not find themselves in complete isolation, as besides villages there are two dairy farms and a popular "Alesia" sanatorium on that side, builders erected a temporary pontoon bridge nearby — it is precisely this that is visible in recent satellite images. The repair will continue until February 2027.
Kobryn Bridge
Reconstruction of the bridge over Mukhavets in Kobryn. Photo: sb.by
Two bridges are also being built in the centers of large cities in northwestern Belarus. We are talking about the reconstruction of the bridge over the Mukhavets River on Lenin Street in the historical center of Kobryn. This crossing was built back in 1946-1947 and connects the city center with the development on the northern bank.
The bridge over Mukhavets in Kobryn connects the historical center with the northern part of the city. 2016. Photo: Google Earth
This crossing has military significance only in one case — in defending Kobryn itself from an enemy. Since 2009, Kobryn has had a wide and convenient Southern bypass, which directly connects the M10 highway with roads to Minsk, Brest, as well as to Malaryta and the Ukrainian border, bypassing urban development. The bridge in the center of Kobryn would not have fundamental significance during another invasion of Russian troops from Belarus, given such a Southern bypass.
A convenient bypass exists around Kobryn, connecting the M10 highway with roads to Minsk, Brest, as well as to Malaryta and the Ukrainian border, making the use of the bridge in the city center for military purposes unlikely. Photo: Openstreetmap
The stated reason for the modernization of the "old" bridge (as locals call it) is physical fatigue. The load capacity of the mid-20th-century structure had long ceased to meet modern requirements, and the narrow roadway created daily traffic jams in the center of Kobryn. This year, the object was finally included in the State Investment Program.
Reconstruction of the bridge over Mukhavets in Kobryn. Photo: sb.by
Condition of the Mukhavets bridge structures in Kobryn. Photo: sb.by
The old spans were decided to be completely dismantled, and new steel-reinforced concrete structures of individual design will be installed in their place. At the same time, the number of lanes will remain the same — the road will only be widened from 7.5 to 9 meters, adding space for pedestrians and separate one-and-a-half-meter bike paths.
View of the bridge closed for reconstruction from the historical center. Photo: sb.by
To prevent the city from being completely paralyzed during the reconstruction, a temporary pontoon bridge for pedestrians and cyclists was built near the Savior Monastery. This crossing is equipped with special electric winches and is periodically moved aside to allow the "White Rus" cruise ship to pass along the Mukhavets.
A temporary pontoon bridge has been set up for pedestrians and cyclists during the reconstruction of the road bridge. Photo: sb.by
According to the architects' plan, the renovated bridge will feature an observation deck offering panoramic views of the river, embankment, renovated registry office (ZAGS) and St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, and a zigzag staircase will lead down to the river.
Brest Bridge
Construction of a new bridge next to the existing one on Shevchenko Boulevard in Brest. Photo: onlinebrest.by
A similar situation is observed in Brest. The Ukrainian graphics indicate a bridge on Shevchenko Boulevard, which is allegedly being built alongside the existing one to connect to Warsaw Highway. For someone unfamiliar with the geography of the regional center, this might sound like preparation of a strategic corridor and duplication of crossings. However, Warsaw Highway has long ceased to be a suburban route, but an ordinary main city street.
The bridge over Mukhavets on Shevchenko Boulevard in Brest connects the city center with large residential areas. 2022. Photo: Google Earth
The bridge itself, built in 1963, is a vital artery connecting the center of Brest with huge residential areas on the southern bank of the Mukhavets — Vulka, Kavaliouka, Puhachouka, as well as Valynka and Hershony.
The old two-lane structure, only 13.5 meters wide, had for decades failed to cope with the many times increased traffic and created daily traffic jams. To avoid paralyzing half the city during the repair, authorities chose a complex three-stage reconstruction format using a loan from the Development Bank.
The old two-lane bridge was too narrow and caused constant traffic jams in the city. Photo: abw.by
Builders are indeed erecting a new bridge parallel to the old one, but solely to avoid blocking an important city artery. But as soon as traffic is opened on it (approximately by the end of 2026), the old emergency bridge will be completely demolished, and the second half will be built in its place.
As for actual military transit, as early as the end of the last decade, a Western bypass was built in Brest — a huge overpass that allows moving cargo or equipment from the M1 highway towards the Ukrainian border, bypassing the city's central streets.
Construction of a new bridge next to the existing one on Shevchenko Boulevard in Brest. Photo: BelTA
The use of the bridge on Shevchenko Boulevard for troop movement is unlikely. On the northern bank, the boulevard turns into Cosmonauts Boulevard, which practically runs into a dense regular network of 19th-century streets, squeezed by railways. And on the southern bank, this city thoroughfare merges into the very same Western bypass.
For an object of military purpose, the design documentation for the bridge over Mukhavets in Brest looks too open. Photo: from a tablet submitted to the XXI Republican competition for the best project, construction, and publication in the field of architecture
Render of the future bridge. Photo: from a tablet submitted to the XXI Republican competition for the best project, construction, and publication in the field of architecture
According to the plan of the "Brestproekt" authors' collective, the new four-lane crossing will feature wide four-meter sidewalks for pedestrians and cyclists. The architects designed it with architectural lighting that will change color, arc-shaped decorative lanterns, and a large stele in the form of a metal ring with silhouettes of city landmarks at the intersection with Frantsishak Skaryna embankment.
It does not seem that bridge construction indicates Belarus's involvement in the war
If it weren't for the Zhytkavichy collapse and the gigantic state program for saving bridges that emerged after it, such a concentration of construction equipment in southern Belarus could indeed seem suspicious.
Kyiv's alarm would be fully justified if this state program was being implemented across the country only on paper, while real work was carried out at a frantic pace only along the Belarusian-Ukrainian border. But this is not the case. Exactly the same large-scale infrastructure projects are being implemented in all regions of the country today.
As we showed above, part of the Ukrainian list consists of objects conceived or closed due to danger long before the war. The interchange on the M10 was designed jointly with Europeans back in 2015, and the northern bridge over the Dnieper near Rechytsa stood abandoned, awaiting reconstruction, for a whole decade.
Other objects, like the bridge in Vetka, were included in reconstruction programs shortly before the Russian invasion of Ukraine. If they were truly being prepared for the start of an offensive, they should have been completed by February 2022.
The same applies to constructions started after 2022. Talks about a possible repeated offensive from Belarusian territory and Minsk's involvement in the war gained new momentum precisely this year.
However, the completion schedules are absolutely asynchronous; no race to a single deadline is visible in them.
Pontoon bridge, erected across the Pripyat in the Chernobyl exclusion zone of the Polesian Reserve. This bridge made it possible to shorten the path from Rechytsa, near which Russian troops were concentrated, to the Ukrainian border by more than 70 km. Photo: Maxar
On the eve of the full-scale invasion in February 2022, Russian engineering troops in complete secrecy erected a pontoon bridge across the Pripyat right in the Chernobyl exclusion zone — near the evacuated Belarusian village of Vyepry, just four kilometers from the Ukrainian border. If anyone didn't believe the American intelligence reports voiced by Biden from the podium, this bridge in an absolutely deserted territory, where being present was mortally dangerous for humans, became undeniable proof. It left no doubts about the inevitability of war: that crossing indeed had no other meaning than military.
The objects Ukraine points to today are not characterized by any secrecy. On the contrary, the reconstruction of every bridge or interchange is widely covered by the media. Belarus lives by its own internal schedule, which does not exclusively obey the logic of a war next door.
Ukrainian leadership and intelligence have sufficient competence to understand the military significance or its absence in constructions near the Belarusian-Ukrainian border. Therefore, Kyiv's current statements are an understandable and effective diplomatic tactic that allows Ukraine to keep the situation in the focus of Western partners and maintain pressure on Lukashenka's regime. Especially since real military infrastructure in Belarus is indeed being developed — it's just hard to attribute the reconstruction of Soviet overpasses to it.
«Nasha Niva» — the bastion of Belarus
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1) Якраз менавіта на гэта і звяртаюць ўвагу украінскія ваенныя : рабіць трэба было даўно, але чамусьці пачалі рабіць цяпер. На дзівоснае супадзенне ў часе.
2) Не кожны мост робіцца пад гонкі на танках ў абодва бакі. Танкі ўвогуле ездзяць па чыгунцы. Па аўтадарогах ездзяць аўтамабілі. Паралельныя масты і дарогі надзвычай неабходныя для ачысткі і разгрузкі асноўных магістраляў ад непажаданага цывільнага транспарту, а таксама для забеспячэння стабільнага руху ў абодва бакі пры пашкоджанні асноўнай транспартнай магістралі.
Напрыклад сітуацыя з Крымам: адна дарога, адзін мост дазволілі за тыдзень ізаляваць цэлы паўвостраў з арміяй, флотам і рэсурсамі. Паралельныя "нетанкавыя" аўтадарогі маюць істотнае значэнне.
Вайскоўцаў не супакоіш словамі "ай, гэта старая праграма".
2) Адзінага дэдлайну быць ў прынцыпе ня можа. Розныя работы, аб'ёмы, розныя маштабы.
Які дурань будзе планаваць сканчэнне ўсіх будоўляў на адзін дзень календара?
3) Актыўная разбудова дарог і мастоў гэта актывізацыя дарожна-будаўнічых рэсурсаў на выпадак імгненнай ліквідацыі магчымых пашкоджанняў.
Напрыклад сітуацыя на акупаваных абшарах Украіны: вайна і расійскае панаванне знішчылі там ўсё. Залатаць дзірку ў мосце, або засыпаць варонку на стратэгічнай дарозе ўжо няма каму.
Пастаянная актыўная разбудова паралельных неваенных дарогаў здымае такую небяспеку для агрэсара.