New Restricted Flight Zone Appears In Southern Belarus

• 9.12.2024, 17:10

All flights at an altitude of up to 20 kilometers are prohibited.

A new restricted flight zone has appeared over the Almanskaye swamp in the south of Belarus. The zone was introduced from December 8 to December 20, 2024 and prohibits flights of all types of aircraft at altitudes of up to 20 km from the ground, Belaruski Hayun reports.

In fact, the restricted flight zone covers the entire territory of the Almanskaye swamp landscape reserve along with the Pripyatsky National Park and affects the Stolin (along with Stolin city), Lelchytsy and Zhytkavichy districts in the south of the country. Previously, this territory was also known as the former 41st aviation testing ground (Merlinsky), where bombing tests were carried out since the early 1960s, but the testing ground was closed in 2005.

The designated area of the new restricted zone was already in the absolute no-fly zone, which has been in effect for over two years and is constantly being extended. Thus, flights in the designated zone were not possible without the military's approval. In addition, the Lelchytsy District Executive Committee reported that scheduled “exercises” would be held in the district starting tomorrow, December 10. The day before, a column of Belarusian army equipment was spotted in Pinsk, which is adjacent to the new restricted zone, which, according to preliminary data, belongs to the 38th Special Operations Brigade.