Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said on Monday he had ordered troops to deploy alongside Russian forces near Ukraine, in response to what he said was a clear threat to Belarus from Kyiv and its backers in the West. .
The remarks by Lukashenko, who has been in power in Belarus since 1994, signal a possible escalation of the war in Ukraine with a joint Russian-Belarusian army in northern Ukraine.
“Attacks on the territory of Belarus are not only being discussed in Ukraine today, but are being planned,” Lukashenko said at a security meeting, without providing evidence for the claim. “Their bosses are pushing to start a war against Belarus to drag us there.”
“We have been preparing for this for decades. We will respond if necessary,” Lukashenko said, adding that he discussed the situation with Russian President Vladimir Putin during a meeting in St. Petersburg. Who was
Lukashenko said he had agreed with Putin on the deployment of a regional military group, and had begun assembling troops two days earlier, apparently ahead of an attack on Russia’s road and rail bridge to Crimea early Saturday morning. After
Lukashenko said Belarus was given a warning through unofficial channels that Ukraine planned “Crimean Bridge 2”, although he did not give details.
“My answer was simple: ‘Tell the president of Ukraine and other madmen: if they touch one meter of our territory, the Crimean bridge will be a walk in the park’.
The army of Belarus has about 60,000 personnel. Earlier this year, Belarus deployed 6 battalion tactical groups, totaling several thousand people, to the border areas. On Sunday, the head of Belarus’ border guards accused Ukraine of border provocations.
