The western borders of the Union State are under the reliable protection of the Belarusian armed forces. This was stated by the head of the Belarusian government Roman Golovchenko during a meeting on the sidelines of the EAEU intergovernmental council with Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin.
According to him, the President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko, after a meeting with the heads of law enforcement agencies, within the framework of allied obligations between Moscow and Minsk, decided to provide the Belarusian armed forces with security on the western borders of the Union State. The Belarusian leader, according to the head of the Cabinet, explained this by the incessant pulling of NATO forces and means to them.
“And as the president said, not a single bullet and not a single shell will hit the back of a Russian soldier from this direction,” SB.BY quoted Golovchenko as saying.
On the eve of the Permanent Representative of Belarus to the OSCE Andrei Dapkyunas reminded that Belarus will not be drawn into the war and does not want to. To resolve the conflict, Andrei Dapkyunas suggested recalling “the successful experience of meetings in the Belarusian capital in 2014-2015” and restoring peace without loss.
The press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov on the same day called the proposal of the President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko to hold Russian-Ukrainian talks in Minsk an action that Moscow would expect from Kiev.
On February 24, President Putin, in his special televised address, announced that a special operation would be carried out in the Donbass in order to protect the civilian population. After that, Vladimir Zelensky accused Russia of hitting the country’s military infrastructure and introduced martial law throughout the country.
The Russian Defense Ministry, meanwhile, said that the army did not carry out air missile or artillery strikes on the cities of Ukraine. They stressed that nothing threatens the civilian population of the country. High-precision weapons destroy military infrastructure: military airfields, aviation, air defense facilities of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. On the same day, the Russian army disabled 83 ground facilities of Ukraine’s military infrastructure.
Zelensky said that Kiev is breaking off diplomatic relations with Moscow and expelling its diplomats from the embassy.
On February 21, the Russian leader signed decrees recognizing the independence of the Lugansk and Donetsk People’s Republics (LNR and DNR). Also, the President of the Russian Federation and the heads of both republics Leonid Pasechnik and Denis Pushilin signed agreements on friendship, cooperation and mutual assistance. The documents were ratified the next day by both the republics themselves and the Russian State Duma.
The situation in Donbass escalated on February 17. The DPR and LPR reported heavy shelling by Ukrainian security forces, including from heavy weapons. The republics announced a general mobilization and evacuation of civilians to the territory of Russia.
Since 2014, the Kiev authorities have been conducting a military operation against the inhabitants of Donbass, who refused to recognize the results of the coup d’état and the new government in Ukraine. At the same time, Kiev blames Moscow for the current situation. Russia has repeatedly stated that it is not a party to the conflict.
Source: IZ
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
