On the night of February 13, 2025, residents of the Gomel region reported sounds reminiscent of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), shortly before the first drone was shot down. According to eyewitnesses, the debris from the downed UAV fell on the territory of Gomel. There have been no official comments from the Belarusian Ministry of Defense on this matter yet.

"Around 00:32, an aircraft was shot down over Gomel. Residents of the central and northeastern parts of Gomel reported that debris had fallen to the ground. Details are being investigated.", - reports the Telegram channel "Flagpole of Gomel region".

This is not the first time that such incidents involving drones have occurred in the region. Thus, on the night of September 5, 2024, drones were recorded over Gomel that violated the state border of Belarus. According to the Ministry of Defense, all violators were destroyed by air defense forces. Local residents reported explosions and falling drone debris in the city, which caused a fire in one of the warehouses. The fire was quickly extinguished, there were no casualties.

However, despite the development of its own unmanned industry, Belarus faces the problem of unauthorized penetration of drones into its territory. In this regard, on September 25, 2023, Decree of the President of the Republic of Belarus No. 297 "On state registration and operation of civilian unmanned aerial vehicles" was adopted, which prohibits individuals from importing, operating and manufacturing civilian UAVs and aircraft models without the appropriate permission.