The country announced that Belarus’ decision to deploy troops alongside Russia was solely for defensive purposes to protect its borders.
Earlier this week, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said the two countries had deployed troops together. However, he did not reveal where the army was deployed. His statement came after a bridge connecting Russia and Crimea was bombed and Moscow blamed Ukraine for the blast.
News of the deployment sparked concerns that Belarusian forces could seize eastern territories in Ukraine and assist Russia in occupying them. Belarus has rejected these speculations.
“We reiterate that the mission of our regional forces is purely defensive. Belarusian Defense Minister Viktor Vlenin said in a statement. Moscow Times.
The chairman of the Security Council of Belarus, Aleksandr Volfovich, said: blame the west He was quoted by the Defense Ministry as spreading propaganda that his country might carry out a “special military operation” in Ukraine.
Wolfovich argued that European countries were “openly considering possible options for aggression” against Belarus. Ukraine is also discussing the possibility of attacking Belarus, he said.
Just months before Russia invaded Ukraine in February, Belarus used similar pretexts to allow Russian forces to enter its territory. At that time, the Russian military presence in Belarus was due to military exercises between the two countries.
Belarusian-Ukrainian conflict
An attack on a bridge connecting Russia and Crimea was used as a pretext for Russia to launch cruise missiles at a Ukrainian city on Monday. Putin has called the destruction of the bridge a terrorist attack on mainland Russia.
Lukashenko then claimed to have been warned through “unofficial channels” that Ukraine was planning an attack on Belarusian territory.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Tuesday that Ukraine had no intention of attacking Belarus.He called on G-7 countries to support his call deploying international observers on the Ukrainian-Belarusian border According to Reuters, to “monitor the security situation.”
The Belarusian president has hinted at the possibility of war with Ukraine, but many experts are skeptical that he will push it.
in an interview with GuardianArtyom Shraibman, a Belarusian political analyst and non-resident scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, noted that Putin has a lot of influence, but he cannot force Lukashenko to commit “political suicide.” .
“That’s why Lukashenko will try to resist any pressure for outright war,” he said. “On the one hand, I doubt he will succeed in this forever.
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Naveen Athrappully is a news reporter covering business and world events for The Epoch Times.