The President of Belarus approved decisions on the protection of the state border. The event is traditional, but this year there is a peculiarity. The head of state approved two decisions at once: to guard the border by border guards on the ground and air defense in the sky. Alexander Lukashenko also discussed the situation on the state border with representatives of the power bloc. The situation remains predictable and controllable. At the same time, external challenges to border security persisted last year. They are associated with the militarization of the border regions of the neighboring EU states and Ukraine, the intensification of intelligence activities, as well as attempts to penetrate Belarus by radical individuals. This year, the main efforts on protecting the border will be focused on the Ukrainian direction, as well as on areas where new external challenges and threats to border security may arise.