Belarus' Lukashenko warns of joining Russia in the war if Ukraine attempts to aim at Minsk

In an inflammatory warning, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko on Saturday warned that he will not hesitate to join Russia in the war against Ukraine if Kyiv's Armed Forces attempt "to aim" at Minsk. Lukashenko, who is a strong ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, asserted that he would "enter Russia's war" if Ukraine "starts to kill Belarusian people." He further alleged that in the past three days Kyiv had tried to target military facilities in Belarus, although they were intercepted, Kyiv Independent reported. It is too mention that Russia has been using Belarus' territory to launch missiles at Ukraine.

Lukashenko's remarks come a day after he directed a stern warning toward the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) who is allegedly "keeping distance" from Russia following the invasion. As quoted by the Belarusian state-run BelTA news agency, the authoritarian leader stressed that "we are convinced that only together can we resist global challenges." Speaking at the ninth Forum of Regions of Belarus and Russia alongside Putin, Lukashenko threatened the countries saying that if they wanted to preserve their post-Soviet sovereignty and independence, "they should sincerely be interested in rapprochement with the union state."

"Those who still have doubts should understand: Without the speedy unity and rallying, strengthening of interstate ties and simply normal human relations, we may not exist tomorrow," added Lukashenko, as translated by Newsweek.

Putin, at the same convention, emphasised that the coordinated response to the "special military operation in Ukraine" by European nations and the US has pushed  Russia and Belarus towards "unification." According to a transcript released by the Kremlin, Putin said that the "unprecedented political and economic pressure from the so-called 'collective West' is accelerating the unification process...in order to minimise the damage from illegal sanctions and develop new competencies."

Notably, before the invasion began on February 24, Lukashenko had allowed Russia to station its military forces along the Belarusian border. Both countries also conducted large-scale drills to show strength. During the meeting last Friday, Putin also promised to send the Iskander-M missile to Belarus in order to tackle the "repulsive and confrontational" policies of the West. On the other hand, President Lukashenko in a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Moscow must be ready to deploy nuclear weapons to thwart western escalation.

Ukraine's Lviv alerted over potential attack from Belarus side

Lukashenko's provocative rhetoric has led Ukraine to brace for potential threats of escalation from the Belarusian side. The Mayor of the west Ukrainian city of Lviv, Andrii Sadovyi, on Friday took to Facebook, claiming that a large "military threat" is looming as Belarus might launch an offensive to blockade alternative export routes. "In each district of the city, we will create a defense headquarters and conduct additional training for members of the volunteer formations of territorial defense forces," Sadovyi wrote. "We will not transfer them to 24-hour duty yet. However, this decision can change at any moment. Since the situation on the Belarusian-Ukrainian border is unpredictable, this is its biggest difficulty. We are also considering the option of forming reserve volunteer battalions from employees of the city council and utility enterprises,” he added.  

(Image: AP)