Russian leader makes rare admission while in Belarus; Chinese-Russian naval drills to ‘further deepen’ ties
Russia-Ukraine war at a glance
Putin was in Belarus on Monday, where he and Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko, hardly mentioning the war raging in nearby Ukraine at a late night joint news conference, Reuters reports.
Russian forces used Belarus as a launch pad for their abortive attack on the Ukrainian capital Kyiv in February, and there has been Russian and Belarusian military activity there for months.
Ukrainian joint forces commander Serhiy Nayev had said he believed the Minsk talks would address “further aggression against Ukraine and the broader involvement of the Belarusian armed forces in the operation against Ukraine, in particular, in our opinion, also on the ground”.
But none of the journalists invited to speak asked Putin or Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko – who has repeatedly said his country will not be drawn into Ukraine – about the war.
Belarus’s political opposition, largely driven into jail, exile or silence, fears a creeping Russian annexation or “absorption” of its much smaller Slavic neighbor which, like Russia, has been hurt by sweeping Western economic sanctions.
Both Putin and Lukashenko dismissed the idea. “Russia has no interest in absorbing anyone,” Putin said. “There is simply no expediency in this … It’s not a takeover, it’s a matter of policy alignment.”
Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, said the situation in four areas of eastern Ukraine – Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson – that Moscow illegally annexed in September was “extremely difficult”. Russia’s illegal annexation of the four territories, which together make up 15% of Ukraine, marked the largest forcible takeover of territory in Europe since the second world war and was condemned by Kyiv and its western allies as illegal.
Continue reading…Russian leader makes rare admission while in Belarus; Chinese-Russian naval drills to ‘further deepen’ tiesRussia-Ukraine war at a glancePutin was in Belarus on Monday, where he and Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko, hardly mentioning the war raging in nearby Ukraine at a late night joint news conference, Reuters reports. Russian forces used Belarus as a launch pad for their abortive attack on the Ukrainian capital Kyiv in February, and there has been Russian and Belarusian military activity there for months.Ukrainian joint forces commander Serhiy Nayev had said he believed the Minsk talks would address “further aggression against Ukraine and the broader involvement of the Belarusian armed forces in the operation against Ukraine, in particular, in our opinion, also on the ground”.But none of the journalists invited to speak asked Putin or Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko – who has repeatedly said his country will not be drawn into Ukraine – about the war.Belarus’s political opposition, largely driven into jail, exile or silence, fears a creeping Russian annexation or “absorption” of its much smaller Slavic neighbor which, like Russia, has been hurt by sweeping Western economic sanctions.Both Putin and Lukashenko dismissed the idea. “Russia has no interest in absorbing anyone,” Putin said. “There is simply no expediency in this … It’s not a takeover, it’s a matter of policy alignment.”Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, said the situation in four areas of eastern Ukraine – Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson – that Moscow illegally annexed in September was “extremely difficult”. Russia’s illegal annexation of the four territories, which together make up 15% of Ukraine, marked the largest forcible takeover of territory in Europe since the second world war and was condemned by Kyiv and its western allies as illegal. Continue reading…