Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, in an unprecedented visit to the Belarusian capital, Minsk. Analysts endorse Putin will be seeking to set situations for a renewed offensive towards northern Ukraine or Kyiv, after a failed try to capture the capital early in the conflict.
The discussions between Putin and Lukashenko centered on economic cooperation, according to the readouts from their offices.
It is Putin’s first visit to Belarus in 3 years, and he changed into observed by Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, suggesting the talks had been more far-attaining than the economy. Following their talks, Putin and Lukashenko held a joint information convention in Minsk. Despite Belarus appearing as a release pad for the Russian attack on Ukraine, newshounds’ gift at the convention did not ask questions on the conflict.
Vladimir Putin has traveled to Belarus to satisfy the Belarusian leader, Alexander Lukashenko, as fears develop in Kyiv that Moscow is pushing its closest best friend to enroll in a brand new floor offensive towards Ukraine. Putin defined the talks as “very productive” and insisted that Russia has no interest in “absorbing” anyone, including that unspecified “enemies” desired to forestall Russia’s integration with Belarus. High-stage Belarusian-Russian negotiations covered “the complete variety of subjects regarding Belarusian-Russian relations”.
Russia’s foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, held talks together along with his Belarusian counterpart, Sergei Aleinik, in Minsk in advance nowadays beforehand of Putin’s visit to Minsk. The foreign ministers discussed “unique topical issues, the efforts to counter the unlawful sanctions of the West, in addition to interplay on global platforms”, Belarusian kingdom media referred to Belarus’s foreign ministry as saying, in addition to having “touched upon alternate and financial cooperation subjects and the implementation of joint projects”.
Belarus’s defense ministry stated it had finished a chain of inspections of its armed forces’ army preparedness, hours beforehand of Putin’s visit to Minsk. Weeks of army maneuvers and inspections have raised fears in Kyiv that Belarus, which acted as a staging publish for Russia to release its invasion of Ukraine in February, will be getting ready to take an extra lively function in the struggle fare as soon as again.
Ukraine changed into equipped for “all feasible defense situations” towards Moscow and its best friend. Protecting our border, each with Russia and Belarus is our consistent priority.
The head of Moldova’s protection service, Alexandru Musteata, has warned of a “very high” hazard of a brand new Russian offensive in the direction of his country’s east. Russia nevertheless goals to steady a land hall thru Ukraine to the breakaway Moldovan location of Transnistria, that his organization believed Moscow changed into searching at numerous situations to attain Moldova and that it changed into feasible an offensive could be released in January-February or later in March-April.
A Russian drone assault caused “pretty serious” harm in the Kyiv location and 3 regions in the location had been left without strength supply. Russia unleashed 35 “kamikaze” drones on Ukraine in the early hours of Monday as many humans slept, hitting important infrastructure in and around Kyiv in Moscow’s one-third air assault at the Ukrainian capital in 6 days.
Ukraine’s atomic strength organization accused Russia of flouting nuclear protection via way of means of sending a “kamikaze” drone over a part of a nuclear strength plant in Mykolaiv location simply after Sunday midnight. The Iranian-made Shahid drone was detected over the South Ukraine Nuclear Power Plant and is known at the global nuclear network to shield atomic sites from the dangers of conflict.
Air raid indicators had been issued throughout Kyiv and the maximum of Ukraine on Monday early afternoon. There had been no instantaneous reviews of assaults and the alarm change ended approximately 20 mins after the alert.
Russia’s defense ministry stated its forces had shot down 4 US-made HARM anti-radiation missiles over the Belgorod location, which borders Ukraine, in the area of 24 hours, the kingdom-run TASS information organization reported.
The UN’s secretary general, António Guterres, stated he believes Russia’s conflict in Ukraine “will move on” and does now no longer see a prospect for “serious” peace talks in the instantaneously future.
Rishi Sunak stated that the west needs to reject unilateral calls via way of means of the Kremlin for a ceasefire in Ukraine and cognizance of “degrading Russia’s functionality to regroup and to resupply” at an assembly of European leaders in Latvia. The UK high minister changed into talking at a summit of the 10-country Joint Expeditionary Force in the Latvian capital at a time of heightened challenge as to whether or not Britain will retain the strong aid for Ukraine that started under Boris Johnson.