Residents in at least seven cities in Belarus just north of Ukraine said they heard explosions late Wednesday. They reported the explosions at about the same time on social media, writes US NEWS.

One city is Hantsavichy, where Russia has an early warning radar station capable of detecting launches of ballistic missiles from Europe.

There was no comment from the government of Belarus. The head of the Brest region in southwest Belarus, Alexander Rogachuk, had earlier announced that several Belarusian army units were holding exercises on Wednesday with live fire.

The independent Belarusian newspaper Nasha Niva suggested the explosions could have been related to shelling by Russian forces of an important Ukrainian railway junction at Sarny along the border with Belarus.