DNIPRO: Russia and Belarus began joint military exercises on Monday, raising fears in Kyiv and the West that Moscow could use its ally to launch new ground operations in Ukraine.
The Belarusian Defense Ministry said the two allies will conduct air force exercises using all Belarusian military airfields from January 16 to February 1 and will begin joint military exercises involving the “Mechanized Brigade Subdivision” on Monday. Minsk says the air exercises are defensive and will not lead to war.
Russia used neighboring Belarus as a springboard for its invasion of Ukraine last February.
In a speech following the Dnipro attack, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called on Western allies to provide more weapons to end “Russian terrorism” and attacks on civilian targets. Britain followed France and Poland with more weapons pledges, saying it would send 14 of its Challenger 2 main battle tanks in the coming weeks, along with other advanced artillery support.
Moscow sees the first shipment of Western-made tanks to Ukraine as an escalation of the conflict.
The Russian embassy in London said the tanks would drag out the conflict.
On the other hand, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki urged Germany on Monday to send Ukraine the weapons it needs to fight off invading Russian troops, speaking in Berlin to slam Chancellor Olaf Schulz’s government. Criticized.
Speaking at a gala to mark conservative former German finance minister Wolfgang Schäuble’s half-century in parliament, Morawiecki said Europe’s collective conscience would be burdened if Ukraine was not helped further. “I demand decisive steps from the German government,” he said.
“Fighting for freedom and our future as we speak… tanks should not be left in warehouses, but in their hands.”
Germany has come under pressure from allies to allow the use of German-made Cheetahs in Ukraine. Eastern and Central European NATO allies rely primarily on German-made Leopards, which are seen as Western tanks best suited to form Ukraine’s new armored forces.
German minister resigns
As Berlin was under intense pressure to supply battle tanks to Kyiv, German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht resigned. His decision came a few days before an important meeting of defense ministers of Ukraine’s allies.
A spokesman for Chancellor Olaf Schulz said he would announce a replacement for Lambrecht in the near future.
Lambrecht, 57, said he asked Schulz to relieve him of his duties. “The months of media attention on my person hardly allows for objective reporting and discussion about servicemen and women… and security policy decisions in the interest of German citizens,” he said. .
The politician from Scholz’s Social Democrats (SPD) has faced criticism for months over what some see as Germany’s shaky response to the Ukraine conflict.
Berlin is under pressure to quickly nominate a new defense minister ahead of US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s visit to the US military base in Ramstein, Germany this week.
Finland’s response
Finnish President Sauli Niinisto said the country could donate a small number of Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine if a wider group of European countries decided to do the same. He said the topic would be discussed later this week, possibly first at a meeting in Tallinn to which Estonia has invited “like-minded countries” and a US military base in Germany.
Finland’s stance on giving Ukraine Leopard tanks depends on Germany’s lead, with Finnish Defense Minister Mikko Savola saying a permit from Germany would be required to export German-made equipment.
Tanks ‘will burn’ in Ukraine: Russia
On Monday, the Kremlin said the tanks Britain plans to send to Ukraine “will burn”, and warned the West that supplying Ukraine with a new round of advanced weapons would not change the outcome of the war.
Britain had previously said it would send 14 of its Challenger 2 main battle tanks as well as other advanced artillery support in the coming weeks.
“They are using this country as a tool to achieve their anti-Russian goals,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said when asked about the British tanks.
“These tanks are burning and will burn like the rest,” Peskov said.
Peskov said the new supplies from countries such as Britain and Poland would not change the situation on the ground but were an attempt to defuse the conflict, which he said would bring “further problems” on Ukraine.
