Lukashenko joins Putin
Minsk announces military maneuvers with Moscow
01/17/2022, 4:35 p.m
The Russian military presence on Ukraine’s eastern border has alarmed NATO. Lukashenko, who is loyal to Putin, has now announced further military maneuvers with Moscow for February. The Belarusian ruler also defines the goal: work on a plan for confrontation with the West.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has announced new Belarusian-Russian military maneuvers for February. As Lukashenko announced at noon, the agreement on joint military exercises had already been reached with Russian President Vladimir Putin in December. It was unclear how many soldiers would take part.
According to Lukashenko, the exercises are aimed at “developing a precise plan in the event of a confrontation with Western forces”. The maneuvers are under the motto “Union Resolve 2022,” the Belarusian ruler explained to Telegram.
Lukashenko justified the joint maneuvers with the strengthening of NATO’s military presence in Poland and the Baltic States. Warsaw has requested logistical and technical support from NATO. In addition, Lukashenko accused the Ukrainian leadership of strengthening its units on the border with Belarus.
Tougher course of the Biden administration
As early as spring, Russia massed up to 100,000 soldiers on the border with Ukraine. After strong protests from the West and from Kiev, these were withdrawn after a good three weeks. Since November, Moscow has started the same maneuver from the beginning. This time, Kiev and NATO allies seriously fear a Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Moscow denies any attack plans and accuses Kiev and NATO of “provocations”. Putin is demanding written security guarantees from the military alliance and the USA – the renunciation of NATO’s eastward expansion and of US military bases in states in the former Soviet sphere of influence. US President Joe Biden, who has already referred to Putin as a “killer” and is taking a much sharper course against Moscow than his predecessor Donald Trump, called Putin twice in December. Both exchanged threats, some harsh, but made no real progress.