A view shows the Senkivka checkpoint near the border with Belarus and Russia in Chernihiv region, Ukraine February 16, 2022. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko
Kyiv, May 4 – Kyiv will be ready when Belarusian forces join Russia’s war effort in Ukraine, a spokesman for Ukraine’s State Border Service said on Wednesday.
Belarus, a close ally of Russia, said its military began large-scale drills on Wednesday to test its combat readiness and that it posed no threat to its neighbors. Continue reading
“We do not rule out that at some point the Russian Federation could use the territory of Belarus, the armed forces of the Republic of Belarus, against Ukraine,” said Andriy Demchenko, spokesman for the Ukrainian border guard.
“Therefore we are ready,” he said, adding that the border with Belarus has been strengthened since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24. read more
Russia launched the invasion after holding joint exercises with Belarus that had allowed it to move more forces closer to the border with Ukraine.
Areas of Ukraine bordering Belarus were attacked by Russia in the initial stages of the invasion, but Russian attacks are now concentrated on the eastern and south-eastern regions of Ukraine.
Demchenko said Ukraine has also strengthened its border with the Russian-backed Transnistria region, where tensions have risen since local authorities said it had been the victim of a series of attacks. Continue reading
Ukrainian officials have expressed concern about the situation in Transnistria and have condemned what are Russian attempts to draw the region into Russia’s war against Ukraine. Moscow has also expressed concern, saying it is closely following events in Transnistria.
Kent Logsdon, the US ambassador to Moldova, said on Wednesday Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and what he described as its attempts to redraw the map of Europe at gunpoint were a matter of grave concern around the world.
However, at a conference in Moldova, he said Washington had no evidence Moscow wanted to extend the war to Moldova and said Russian President Vladimir Putin would lose the war, Moldovan media reported.
Reporting by Natalia Zinets, additional reporting by Alexander Tanas in Chisinau, editing by Timothy Heritage