YUROVE, Ukraine - Fears have grown along Ukraine's northern border about the potential for new military attacks since Yevgeniy Prigozhin's Wagner mercenaries relocated to Belarus after last month's short-lived mutiny against Moscow's military leadership, with Ukraine - and even Poland - tightening security and stepping up defenses.
Belarus served as a staging ground when Russian President Vladimir Putin launched his wide-scale invasion in February 2022, including a failed assault on Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital. Defeated Russian units then retreated back across the Belarusian border.