posted on 12/20/2022 6:00 am
(Source: Konstantin Zavrazhin/Sputnik/AFP)
St. Nicholas Day was celebrated by Ukrainians yesterday amidst the darkness. “This saint of the Orthodox Church gives gifts to everyone, especially children. The Russians presented us with a drone attack on Kyiv very early today KievMohyla National University.
Hours after the Ukrainian capital was bombed, Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko in Minsk and informed the ally that he had no intention of annexing the neighboring country. “Russia has no interest in taking anyone in. It just doesn’t make sense,” Putin said. He described the Belarusians as “the closest allies” and “strategic partners” in resistance to Western sanctions.
“Belarus is on the side of the aggressors. Putin is trying to involve Lukashenko in a military ground operation in Ukraine, but the Belarusian resists, understanding that his men do not want to go to war,” Haran said. “An invasion of Ukraine would mean the defeat of the Belarusian army and could aggravate the political situation in Lukashenko’s country.”
The director of the NGO Eurasia Democracy Initiative (in Kyiv), Peter Zalmayev, told the report Lukashenko is not deploying his soldiers in Ukraine for fear the situation will turn against Minsk. “Belarusian troops have never been tested in a war. The conflict is not popular with Belarusians either. I think that Lukashenko will try to break away from the Kremlin, while Putin will try to directly control the Belarusian arms industry.”
The expert believes that Putin will escalate the attacks to force Ukraine to negotiate. “He wants part of our territory to declare victory. I don’t see any signs of it.”