Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said they are preparing for various scenarios that Moscow could play out in cooperation with Belarus, Reuters reports.
Russian troops stationed in Belarus are about to begin training, and officials in Kyiv have warned that Belarus could join Russian forces. After a meeting with the Ukrainian army command, Zelensky said: «Protecting our border, both with Russia and Belarus – is our constant priority. We are preparing for all possible defence scenarios.»
Putin went to Belarus to meet with its president Alexander Lukashenko. The Kremlin called it a business trip. Belarus is one of Russia’s closest allies, and on the 24th of February, it allowed its territory to be used to launch an invasion of Ukraine but has not engaged in direct hostilities.
According to the information provided by the Ministry of Defense of Russia, Russian soldiers stationed in Belarus will conduct tactical exercises. The exact time or place of the training is not known.
Meanwhile, airstrikes continue in Ukraine. In the early morning of the 19th of December, Kyiv was attacked, and the army reports that it shot down nine Iranian-made drones in Kyiv’s airspace. Zelensky called on Western countries to unite and provide Ukraine with anti-aircraft defense systems so that it can resist Russia’s brutal attacks. In recent weeks, Russia has been shelling Ukraine’s energy infrastructure intensively, and millions of people are being left not only without electricity but also without heating during sub-zero temperatures.
Zelensky said that the Ukrainian armed forces are holding positions in Bakhmut, around which fierce fighting has been going on for several weeks, as Russian forces try to advance further into eastern Ukraine.
«We control the town even though the occupiers are doing everything so that no undamaged wall will remain standing,»
Zelensky said.
Putin has stated that the «special military operation», as he calls the war, has finally allowed Moscow to face the West led by the US, which after the collapse of the Soviet Union is said to have tried to prosper at Russia’s expense. Kyiv and the West say Russia has no excuse for the violence it has unleashed in Ukraine.
Henry Kissinger, who was one of the policymakers of the Cold War, said that the time for a peace settlement is approaching and that we must use what has already been achieved to sit at the negotiating table. Ukraine has rejected such an offer, saying that it is based on satisfying the wishes of the aggressor by giving the occupied territories to it. Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to the Ukrainian president, wrote on his Telegram channel that such a solution would be a victory for Putin and a celebration for autocrats in the whole world.
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