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Belarus Builds Rail-Linked Military Training Ground Near Ukraine for Mass Equipment Deployment
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Belarus is building new railway infrastructure near its border with Ukraine designed to rapidly unload large quantities of heavy wheeled and tracked military equipment directly from military trains, the Belarusian service of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported on August 25.
Project documents obtained by the Community of Railway Workers of Belarus show that a dedicated rail network is being developed near the village of Yakimauka in the Gomel region as part of a project officially described as the “Construction of a Training Ground in the Gomel Region.”
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The documents identify the Military Design Institute as the project’s customer.
Plans call for a dedicated access track capable of accommodating a 60-car train, as well as a loading platform equipped with a ramp for quickly unloading wheeled and tracked military vehicles.
The precise location of the new training ground has not yet been publicly established.
🤨 Belarus has begun building a military access railway in Yakimavka near a training ground near the border with Ukraine.
— UNITED24 Media (@United24media) August 26, 2026
Accommodating up to 60 cars, it will support the deployment of the new 37th Separate Air Assault Brigade to strengthen the southern axis. pic.twitter.com/j0N2LQc7h6
The railway project comes amid a broader expansion of Belarusian military infrastructure near the Ukrainian border.
Large-scale construction of a new military base near Gomel has been underway since late 2023. The facility is believed to be intended for the 37th Separate Air Assault Brigade of Belarus’ Special Operations Forces.
Alexander Lukashenko’s government established the brigade in 2025 as part of what it described as an effort to “strengthen the southern sector,” officially presenting the move as protection against alleged threats from Ukraine.
Belarusian state cadastral maps identify the eastern section of the new complex as a “military town,” while the western section is designated as a “tactical training field.”
Media reports in June 2026 indicated that construction of several facilities within the new military compound had already been completed.
Work is now continuing on the railway infrastructure, which would give the site the ability to receive military trains and rapidly move large quantities of armored and other heavy equipment directly into the complex.
The addition of a 60-car rail spur and unloading ramp could significantly increase the speed at which forces and equipment can be deployed to the area, adding another piece of military infrastructure to Belarus’ southern region near Ukraine.
Earlier, reports emerged that Belarus was expanding a new air assault brigade that will eventually be stationed near the city of Gomel, approximately 40 kilometers from the Ukrainian border.
The unit, designated the 37th Separate Air Assault Brigade, is being formed under the Belarusian Armed Forces’ Special Operations Forces.
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