Kyiv: Are prepared for anything
Putin travels to Lukashenko in Minsk
12/19/2022 1:26 am
The Ukrainian military expects a new major offensive by Moscow towards Kyiv in the coming year. Shortly before the turn of the year, Russia’s President Putin set out to meet his Belarusian ally Lukashenko. It is the Kremlin chief’s first visit to Belarus in years.
Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet with ruler Alexander Lukashenko today on his first visit to Belarus in years. Among other things, the two long-term heads of state want to talk about the strategic partnership between the two countries that form a union state, as well as regional and international issues.
Putin, who last visited his colleague in Minsk in 2019, will be accompanied by several members of the government on this working visit. After negotiations in a larger group, Putin and Lukashenko want to withdraw to individual talks.
Belarus is economically dependent on Russia, Lukashenko lives on Putin’s loans. In addition, against the background of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, both ex-Soviet republics have significantly expanded their military cooperation. For example, Belarus makes its military bases available for attacks on Ukraine. In early October, Moscow and Minsk announced the creation of a joint strike force stationed in Belarus.
According to reports, Moscow continues to transfer military equipment to Belarus. In the past few days, 50 armored military vehicles are said to have arrived in the country. A military convoy with 30 new military vehicles arrived in Belarus on December 11, reports the independent military observation medium “Belaruski Hajun.
The transfers are fueling speculation about a new Russian offensive that could potentially come from Belarus. The Ukrainian supreme commander Valeriy Zalushnyi expects a major attack by Moscow in the coming year. “In the worst case, at the end of January,” he said in a statement last week Interview with the British magazine “Economist”. The Russians would train around 200,000 fresh soldiers for this. “I have no doubt that they will attack Kyiv again,” Zalushnyj said.
According to its President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukraine is prepared for all conceivable scenarios on the borders with Russia and Belarus. Protecting the borders is a priority, he says in his daily video speech on Sunday evening. “No matter who or what tries to persuade Minsk to do something, it will not help them,” said the president.