(The Guardian) Putin set to fly to Belarus
The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, is set to fly to Belarus on Monday amid fears he intends to pressure the former Soviet ally to join a new ground offensive against Ukraine and open a new front. His visit for talks with the Belarusian leader, Alexander Lukashenko, will be his first to Minsk since 2019. Ukrainian joint forces commander Serhiy Nayev said: During (these talks) questions will be worked out for further aggression against Ukraine and the broader involvement of the Belarusian armed forces in the operation against Ukraine, in particular, in our opinion, also on the ground.”
Ukraine’s top general, Valery Zaluzhniy, told the Economist last week that Russia was preparing 200,000 fresh troops for a major offensive that could come from the east, south or even from Belarus as early as January, but more likely in spring.
There has been constant Russian and Belarusian military activity for months in Belarus. Russia also used its ally as a launch pad for an abortive attack on Kyiv in February.
Moscow and Minsk have since set up a joint regional unit of forces in Belarus and held numerous military exercises. Three Russian warplanes and an airborne early warning and control aircraft were deployed to Belarus last week.
Foreign diplomats say Lukashenko, a pariah in the west who relies heavily on Russian support, understands it would be a deeply unpopular step at home for him to commit troops to Ukraine. But he has already supported Russia’s war extensively. Some military analysts see the manoeuvring as a ploy to make Ukraine commit forces to its north so it is more exposed to Russian assaults elsewhere.
The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, is set to fly to Belarus on Monday amid fears he intends to pressure the former Soviet ally to join a new ground offensive against Ukraine and open a new front. His visit for talks with the Belarusian leader, Alexander Lukashenko, will be his first to Minsk since 2019. Ukrainian joint forces commander Serhiy Nayev said: During (these talks) questions will be worked out for further aggression against Ukraine and the broader involvement of the Belarusian armed forces in the operation against Ukraine, in particular, in our opinion, also on the ground.”
Ukraine’s top general, Valery Zaluzhniy, told the Economist last week that Russia was preparing 200,000 fresh troops for a major offensive that could come from the east, south or even from Belarus as early as January, but more likely in spring.
There has been constant Russian and Belarusian military activity for months in Belarus. Russia also used its ally as a launch pad for an abortive attack on Kyiv in February.
Moscow and Minsk have since set up a joint regional unit of forces in Belarus and held numerous military exercises. Three Russian warplanes and an airborne early warning and control aircraft were deployed to Belarus last week.
Foreign diplomats say Lukashenko, a pariah in the west who relies heavily on Russian support, understands it would be a deeply unpopular step at home for him to commit troops to Ukraine. But he has already supported Russia’s war extensively. Some military analysts see the manoeuvring as a ploy to make Ukraine commit forces to its north so it is more exposed to Russian assaults elsewhere.
