Thu 16 February 2023:
Belarus will be joining Russia’s Ukraine offensive “only” if it is attacked, the country’s President Alexandr Lukashenko said on Thursday.
According to the state’s news agency BELTA, Lukashenko said that the country would only fight alongside Russia in case of an aggression against Belarus.
Lukashenko, who has repeatedly denied claims from Kyiv and the West that his country could be dragged further into the conflict in Ukraine on the side of Moscow, also said he planned to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday.
Russia used the territory of Belarus as one of its launch pads for the invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Joint military drills over the last year between Belarus and Russia have contributed to concerns that Belarusian troops could join Russia’s forces in Ukraine.
Tensions mount
Tensions are mounting at the border between Ukraine and Moscow-allied Belarus, as officials in Kyiv warn of a Russian spring offensive amid ramped-up military attacks from the Kremlin.
The Ukrainian side of the border is heavily barricaded with several layers of barbed wire and earth mounds to stop anyone from going through.
Kyiv has closed all border crossings to Belarus, except to occasionally allow entry to Ukrainian refugees who are looking to return to their home country, out of concern Belarus could be used for a further invasion by Russia.
Earlier this month, the Belarusian defense ministry said a two-week joint air force exercise between Belarus and Russia, which took place from January 16 to February 1, had concluded.
Separately, the ministry announced the start of a week of joint military drills with Russia for the combined command of their regional grouping of forces. The ministry said it is in preparation for the joint Union Shield 2023 exercises the two countries will hold in Russia in September.
SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES
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