Ukraine to tighten Belarus border defenses

• Vladimir Putin was en-route to Minsk to meet with Alexander Lukashenko.
• Russia may be planning another attack.
• Putin’s statement was the “height of irony,” said US state department.

According to a government official, Ukraine is fortifying its border defences with Belarus out of concern that Russia may be planning another attack.

Yevhen Yenin, Ukraine’s deputy interior minister, told that his country would reinforce the Belarusian border with troops and weapons.

The news broke as Vladimir Putin was en-route to Minsk to meet with Alexander Lukashenko, the president of Belarus.

Belarus and Russia and Ukraine are border neighbours.

Later, the Russian president commanded the tightening of social control both inside and outside of Russia. He argued that the security services should swiftly foil any attempt to breach Russian territory, counter threats from abroad, and track down spies and traitors.

Additionally, he stated that the special services should guarantee the security of residents of the regions of Ukraine that Moscow claims as its territory. Russia recently had notable military setbacks in some of these regions, most notably Kherson.

The coordinated military drills between Belarus and Russia’s forces stationed there were announced by the Russian defence ministry.

In response to this and the visit, Mr. Yenin stated: “We are strengthening our defences everywhere along the Russian and Belarusian borders.”

Despite not actively participating in the conflict, Belarus did permit Russian soldiers to utilise its soil to begin the invasion in February.

Moscow is putting more and more pressure on Minsk to increase its participation in the “special military operation”.

However, Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for the Kremlin, denounced the reports as “absolutely dumb, baseless fabrications.”

The two leaders met in Belarus for the first time in three and a half years when President Putin went to Minsk for talks with President Lukashenko.

The encounter, which lasted more than two hours, was referred to as a “working visit.”

President Putin stated during a joint press conference that Russia did not seek to “absorb” anyone. Additionally, he said that unnamed “enemy” intended to thwart Belarus’s unification with Russia.

Putin’s statement was the “height of irony,” according to US State Department spokesperson Ned Price, considering that he is actively trying to annex Ukraine, he added later on Monday.

Vladimir Putin boarded a plane and made an unusual flight to Minsk today. Presidents Putin and Lukashenko now frequently meet, but in Russia.

President Putin was in Belarus for the first occasion in three and a half years. Why did he go and why now, then?

At the joint news conference, there were few hints given that the two presidents focused mostly on trade, economic cooperation, and security.

President Putin said that Russia is assisting in the crews’ training and that some military aircraft in Belarus have been modified to possibly carry nuclear missiles.

President Lukashenko praised him in return for giving Belarus an Iskander ballistic missile system and an S-400 air defence system.

Rarely was the word “Ukraine” spoken in public.

However, the visit has fueled rumours that the leader of the Kremlin may be attempting to coerce the Belarusian president into joining a potential new ground offensive in Ukraine.

It’s possible that this is merely a rumour. Or it could be a Moscow ruse to get the Ukrainian military trapped in the north by making them anticipate a Belarusian invasion.

However, there have apparently been joint exercises and there are reportedly already several thousand Russian military in Belarus.

Alexander Lukashenko has been hesitant to send his own forces to fight in Ukraine up until this point.

Everybody is watching Minsk to see if that holds true.