The Belarusian-Ukrainian border (, ) is the state border between

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

and

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

with a length of about . It starts from the triple junction with

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

to the west and stretches to the triple junction with

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

to the east. The

tripoint A triple border, tripoint, trijunction, triple point, or tri-border area is a geography, geographical point at which the boundaries of three countries or Administrative division, subnational entities meet. There are 175 international tripoints ...

border at the triple border junction of Belarus, Russia and Ukraine is marked in the form of a monument, while at the other border junction there is a river, the

Western Bug The Bug or Western Bug is a major river in Central Europe that flows through Belarus (border), Poland, and Ukraine, with a total length of .border of Poland.

Geography

The border is situated in the Polesian Lowland, which stretches approximately from the

Western Bug The Bug or Western Bug is a major river in Central Europe that flows through Belarus (border), Poland, and Ukraine, with a total length of .Dnieper The Dnieper or Dnepr ( ), also called Dnipro ( ), is one of the major transboundary rivers of Europe, rising in the Valdai Hills near Smolensk, Russia, before flowing through Belarus and Ukraine to the Black Sea. Approximately long, with ...

along the

Pripyat River The Pripyat or Prypiat is a river in Eastern Europe. The river, which is approximately long, flows east through Ukraine, Belarus, and into Ukraine again, before draining into the Dnieper at Kyiv Reservoir. Name etymology Max Vasmer notes in h ...

. The western end of the border starts at the Western Bug, around the area of the Shatsky Lakes, and runs eastward across the Pinsk Marshes. Further along, it stretches parallel to the south of the Pripyat River, passing densely wooded areas that were contaminated after the

Chernobyl disaster On 26 April 1986, the no. 4 reactor of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, located near Pripyat, Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union (now Ukraine), exploded. With dozens of direct casualties, it is one of only ...

. The border passes just to the north of

Pripyat Pripyat, also known as Prypiat, is an abandoned industrial city in Kyiv Oblast, Ukraine, located near the border with Belarus. Named after the nearby river, Pripyat (river), Pripyat, it was founded on 4 February 1970 as the ninth ''atomgrad'' ...

city and then turns southeast with the river and continues to run parallel to it. As the border reaches the Dnieper River, it turns north towards Homiel and runs along the river. At the midpoint between Homiel and Ripky, the border turns and again runs eastward towards the Central Russian Upland for about where it terminates at the triple junction point with the Russian border.

History

The modern state of the border is dated to

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, when the

Ukrainian People's Republic The Ukrainian People's Republic (UPR) was a short-lived state in Eastern Europe. Prior to its proclamation, the Central Council of Ukraine was elected in March 1917 Ukraine after the Russian Revolution, as a result of the February Revolution, ...

appeared on the map of the world in 1918. However, the border has historical roots. The border between the

Grand Duchy of Lithuania The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a sovereign state in northeastern Europe that existed from the 13th century, succeeding the Kingdom of Lithuania, to the late 18th century, when the territory was suppressed during the 1795 Partitions of Poland, ...

and the

Kingdom of Poland The Kingdom of Poland (; Latin: ''Regnum Poloniae'') was a monarchy in Central Europe during the Middle Ages, medieval period from 1025 until 1385. Background The West Slavs, West Slavic tribe of Polans (western), Polans who lived in what i ...

under the

Union of Lublin The Union of Lublin (; ) was signed on 1 July 1569 in Lublin, Poland, and created a single state, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, one of the largest countries in Europe at the time. It replaced the personal union of the Crown of the Kingd ...

was similar. It corresponded to the administrative border of Brest-Litovsk and

Minsk Minsk (, ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach (Berezina), Svislach and the now subterranean Nyamiha, Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the administra ...

voivodeship on the Lithuanian side and

Kyiv Voivodeship The Kiev Voivodeship (; ; ) was a unit of administrative division and local government in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania from 1471 until 1569 and of the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland from 1569 until 1793, as part of Lesser Poland Province of ...

, Volhynian, and Ruthenian voivodeships on the Polish side. After

and the

treaty of Riga The Treaty of Riga was signed in Riga, Latvia, on between Poland on one side and Soviet Russia (acting also on behalf of Soviet Belarus) and Soviet Ukraine on the other, ending the Polish–Soviet War (1919–1921). The chief negotiators of ...

, the western portion of the border roughly coincided with the administrative border of the

Polesia Polesia, also called Polissia, Polesie, or Polesye, is a natural (geographic) and historical region in Eastern Europe within the East European Plain, including the Belarus–Ukraine border region and part of eastern Poland. This region shou ...

and Volyn provinces of the interwar Polish Republic, and the eastern portion coincided with the border between the Soviet republics of Belarus and Ukraine. At first, the border between both Soviet republics was recognised by the Treaty between the

Ukrainian SSR The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, abbreviated as the Ukrainian SSR, UkrSSR, and also known as Soviet Ukraine or just Ukraine, was one of the Republics of the Soviet Union, constituent republics of the Soviet Union from 1922 until 1991. ...

and the

Belarusian SSR The Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic (BSSR, Byelorussian SSR or Byelorussia; ; ), also known as Soviet Belarus or simply Belarus, was a republic of the Soviet Union (USSR). It existed between 1920 and 1922 as an independent state, and ...

from December 12, 1990. The status of the state border with Ukraine was given by the Supreme Soviet of Belarus of 11 June 1993, but there is an international agreement between Belarus and Ukraine, in which they mutually recognise the border BSSR and

USSR The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

recognised in 1990. To date, the border is governed by the Agreement between Belarus and Ukraine on friendship, good neighbourliness and cooperation of 17 June 1995, the Treaty on the State Border between Belarus and Ukraine on 12 May 1997 in the same year was ratified by the

Verkhovna Rada The Verkhovna Rada ( ; VR), officially the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, is the unicameralism, unicameral parliament of Ukraine. It consists of 450 Deputy (legislator), deputies presided over by a speaker. The Verkhovna Rada meets in the Verkhovn ...

of Ukraine, and in 2010 the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...

of Belarus, but the parties still have not exchanged instruments of ratification. According to Chairman of the State Border Committee of Belarus, Igor Raczkowski, work on border demarcation may continue for up to 10 years and require 51 billion rubels. Demarcation of the border began with the 13 November 2013 inauguration of the first border sign at the place where the borders of Ukraine, Belarus and Russia meet. Following the

in 1986, a big portion of the Ukrainian side of the border lies with the so-called

Chernobyl Exclusion Zone The Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Zone of Alienation, also called the 30-Kilometre Zone or simply The Zone, was established shortly after the 1986 Chernobyl disaster in the Ukrainian SSR of the Soviet Union. Initially, Soviet authorities declar ...

and Polesie State Radioecological Reserve (Belarusian side). The Chernobyl Exclusion Zone in Ukraine is governed by the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources through its special agency. The area does not have adequate infrastructure for border crossing, which is conducted in the area under special authority due to contamination. The exclusion zone has its own checkpoints. The Chernihiv–Ovruch railway runs along the border on the Ukrainian side, connecting the abandoned Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant with the city of

Slavutych Slavutych (, ) is a city and municipality in northern Ukraine, purpose-built for the evacuated personnel of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant after the 1986 disaster that occurred near the city of Pripyat. Geographically located within Chern ...

. The tracks cross the border twice. On 24 February 2022, during the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

, Russian troops began moving across the border from Belarus into Ukraine as a part of the Kyiv offensive. On 3 April 2022 Ukrainian troops took back control of sections of the border near

(they had lost control of due to the Russian invasion). The day before the whole of

Kyiv Oblast Kyiv Oblast (, ), also called Kyivshchyna (, ), is an Administrative divisions of Ukraine, oblast (province) in central and northern Ukraine. It surrounds, but does not include, the city of Kyiv, which is administered as a city with special sta ...

, which is located on the Belarus–Ukraine border, was declared free of invaders by the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense after Russian troops had left the area. On 4 and 5 April 2022 units of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine retook control of their border crossing in

Chernihiv Oblast Chernihiv Oblast (), also referred to as Chernihivshchyna (), is an administrative divisions of Ukraine, oblast (province) in northern Ukraine. The capital city, administrative center of the oblast is the city of Chernihiv. There are 1,511 sett ...

. On 11 November, it was reported that Ukraine had begun construction of a wall on the border with Belarus. After the June 2023 Wagner Group rebellion, after which the Wagner Group was slated to move to Belarus, the border again became a topic of discussion. On 30 June 2023, Ukrainian President

Volodymyr Zelenskyy Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Zelenskyy (born 25 January 1978) is a Ukrainian politician and former entertainer who has served as the sixth and current president of Ukraine since 2019. He took office five years after the start of the Russo-Ukraini ...

approved plans for further reinforcements of the border, although they acknowledged that they did not find any current threats.

Border checkpoints

Checkpoints in bold have international status.

Homiel – Chernihiv regions

Loyew Loyew or Loyev (, ; , ; ) is an urban-type settlement in Gomel Region, Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Loyew District. In 2018, its population was 6,698.

– Kamianka (river, in winter – ice crossing) * Andzewka – Derevyny (small road/street, local traffic passengers during day hours) * Paddabranka – Dobryanka (small road/street, local traffic passengers during day hours) * Hlybotskaie – Ilmivka (small road/street, local traffic passengers during day hours) * Kamaryn – Slavutych / * Vesialowka – Senkivka (border checkpoint), Senkivka / * Novaja Huta – Novi Yarylovychi / () * Cierucha – Hornostayivka (railway) (Chernihiv (railway, f)) * Cierachowka – Khorobychi (railway) (Shchors (railway))

Homiel – Kyiv regions

* (S) Aliaksandrawka – Vilcha /''T1035'' (within Chernobyl zone)

Homiel – Zhytomyr regions

* (S) Hluškavičy – Maidan Kopyshchansky /''T0605'' * Novaja Rudnia – Vystupovychi / (within Chernobyl zone) * Slavečna – Vystupovychi (railway, within Chernobyl zone) (Ovruch (railway) and Korosten (railway))

Bresc – Rivne regions

* Trušava – Vychivka (small road/street, local traffic passengers during day hours) * Almany – Perebrody (small road/street, local traffic passengers during day hours) * (S) Nievieĺ – Prykladnyky / * Vierchni Cierabiažow – Horodyshche / * Haryń – Udrytsk (railway) (Sarny (railway))

Bresc – Volyn regions

* Očyna – Huta (small road/street, local traffic passengers during day hours) * Sušytnica – Tur (small road/street, local traffic passengers during day hours) * Dubok – Khrypsk (small road/street, local traffic passengers during day hours) * (S) Dzivin – Samary /''local road'' * Tamašowka – Pulemets /''T0307'' – (S) Oltuš – Pishcha /''T0307'' ( Shatsky Lakes area) * Machro – Dolsk / * Makrany – Domanove / () and ''T0304'' * Chacislaw – Zabolottia (railway) (

Kovel Kovel (, ; ; ) is a city in Volyn Oblast, northwestern Ukraine. It serves as the administrative center of Kovel Raion within the oblast. Population: Kovel gives its name to one of the oldest runic inscriptions which were lost during World War I ...

(railway, freight))

Special case (Chernobyl railway)

Chernihiv–Ovruch railway is used by Ukrzaliznytsia only. The railway passes through a number of stations on Belarusian territory, most of which are abandoned, except for that of Iolcha. Iolcha station is leased by the

government of Ukraine The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine (), commonly referred to as the Government of Ukraine (), is the highest body of state Executive (government), executive power in Ukraine. As the Cabinet of Ministers of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republi ...

and operated by Ukrainian personnel, while the border services (such as customs) are conducted by the Belarusian authorities. Border services on Ukrainian territory are also conducted at Semykhody station, Vyshhorod Raion (near

) and Nedanchychi,

Chernihiv Raion Chernihiv Raion () is a raion (district) of Chernihiv Oblast, northern Ukraine. Its administrative centre is the city of Chernihiv. Population: On 18 July 2020, as part of the administrative reform of Ukraine, the number of raions of Chernihi ...

(near Slavutych). The portion of the line between Semykhody and Ovruch has been suspended indefinitely and is not currently being utilised.

References

External links

Schematic map of the Southwestern Railway
. Southwestern Railway website.
Schematic map of the Lviv Railway
Lviv Railway website.
List of border checkpoints
State Border Service of Ukraine website. {{DEFAULTSORT:Belarus-Ukraine border Belarus–Ukraine relations Borders of Belarus Borders of Ukraine International borders Internal borders of the Soviet Union 1995 establishments in Belarus 1995 establishments in Ukraine