The President of Belarus, a neighbor of Ukraine and an ally of Moscow, has announced the transfer of Russian nuclear weapons to its territory.
The threat came true. Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko said Thursday, May 25, that Russia had started stationing nuclear weapons on its soil. This operation was announced on March 25 by Vladimir Putin.
Franceinfo summarizes this new day of conflict for you.
Russia has started transferring nuclear weapons to Belarus
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said Thursday that Russia had started transferring nuclear weapons to his country. “The transfer of nuclear charges has started, it has already started,” Lukashenko said. Russia, on the other hand, initially did not comment.
The Russian President announced on March 25 that Moscow would deploy “tactical” nuclear weapons on the territory of Belarus, a country on the doorstep of the European Union, stoking fears of an escalation of the conflict in Ukraine.
An impossible military victory for Russia in Ukraine, says US chief of staff
Russia will not win the war in Ukraine with military means alone, US Chief of Staff Mark Milley confirmed on Thursday. Russia’s original goals, which included overthrowing the Ukrainian government, “can’t be achieved by military means, it won’t work,” added the senior American.
On the other hand, there are currently hundreds of thousands of Russian troops in Ukraine, making Ukraine’s goal of retaking all of its territory unlikely “in the short term,” he continued. “That means the fighting will continue, it will be bloody, it will be tough. And eventually both sides will either negotiate an agreement or come to a military deal.”
The Wagner group begins surrendering Bachmout to the Russian army
After claiming the capture of Bachmout in eastern Ukraine this weekend, the Wagner paramilitary group began handing over their positions in that devastated town to the regular Russian army on Thursday. This operation comes at a time when the Russian army is in a precarious position on the flanks of Bachmout and, according to the Ukrainians, has lost 20 square kilometers north and south of this city to their forces.
“We are in the process of withdrawing units from Bakhmout today. By June 1, most of them will be transferred to rear bases,” Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigoyine said in a video broadcast on Telegram.
Russia claims to have arrested Ukrainian “saboteurs” who attacked nuclear power plants
The Russian security services (FSB) said on Thursday they had arrested “saboteurs” linked to Ukrainian intelligence who were planning attacks aimed at disrupting the operation of Russian nuclear power plants. “According to the Ukrainian special services, this should lead to the shutdown of nuclear reactors, disrupt the normal operation of nuclear power plants and cause significant damage to Russia’s economy and reputation,” the same source said. .
The saboteurs managed to “blow up the pylon of one high-voltage power line and lay mines at the foot of four other high-voltage lines of the Leningrad nuclear power plant”, located in the region of the same name, about thirty kilometers from St. Petersburg. in detail the FSB. Two “Ukrainian citizens, Alexandre Maïstrouk, born in 1978 (…), and Edouard Oussatenko, born in 1974” have been arrested in connection with these attacks and face up to 20 years in prison, the statement said.
Russia is “terrorizing Ukraine” with its night attacks, Zelenskyy denounces
Russia “continues to terrorize Ukraine” with its nightly attacks, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused on Thursday and announced the destruction of 36 Russian drones during the night. The Ukrainian Air Force said the Iranian-made Shahed 136/131 drones were launched from the north and south. “The enemy was undoubtedly targeting critical infrastructure and military sites in the south of the country,” she said in Telegram. Since early May, Russia has intensified its nighttime missile and drone strikes on Ukraine.