Belarus had declared itself neutral at the beginning of the war. But that now seems passé. According to Ukrainian sources, the rocket attacks are now also coming from the country of Putin’s good friend Alexander Lukashenko.
According to information from Kyiv on Saturday, Russia fired rockets at several Ukrainian regions during the Ukraine war, including from neighboring Belarus. Impacts were recorded in the areas of Khmelnytskyi, Lviv, Mykolaiv, Zhytomyr and Chernihiv, the Unian news agency reported on Saturday. The Dnipropetrovsk region was also shelled with artillery.
According to Mayor Serhiy Sukhomlin, 24 rockets fell in the area around Zhytomyr alone – a large city west of Kyiv. A soldier was killed in the process.
Four injured – number of victims not yet known
According to the Ukrainian General Staff, Russia fired the rockets at Zhytomyr and Chernihiv from Belarus. In the Lviv region (formerly: Lemberg), the military area in Javoriv was once again the target of the attacks. According to Ukrainian sources, six cruise missiles were shot down by ships in the Black Sea. Four people were injured.
According to the Ukrainian air defense system, it was able to shoot down two missiles in the Khmelnytskyi area. The rubble should not have caused any damage. On the other hand, the Mykolaivka region in southern Ukraine reported a heavy attack. “The extent of the damage and possible number of victims are still being examined,” said a spokeswoman for the administration. “But we know that the port infrastructure, residential areas and recreational areas have been attacked by civilians.”
20 rockets fired from Belarus towards Ukraine
According to the Northern Command of the Ukrainian Army, the Chernihiv region was also heavily attacked with rockets. “20 rockets” were fired from Belarusian territory and from the air at the village of Desna, according to a message on Facebook. So there were no victims.
The Ukrainian army said that infrastructure had been hit, without saying whether it was military infrastructure. The village of Desna, which had 7,500 inhabitants before the war, is located 70 kilometers north of Kyiv and at the same time 70 kilometers south of the Belarusian border.
Ukraine: Russia wants to drag Belarus into the war
After the rocket attacks, the leadership in Kyiv accused Russia of wanting to draw its ally Belarus into the war. “Today’s attack is directly related to the Kremlin’s efforts to drag Belarus into the war in Ukraine as a comrade-in-arms,” the General Directorate of Ukraine’s Intelligence Service, which reports to the Defense Ministry, told Telegram on Saturday.
The attacks came ahead of a meeting between Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin and Belarusian ruler Alexander Lukashenko on Saturday in St. Petersburg, Russia. A visit by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to Belarus is planned for Thursday and Friday.
The ex-Soviet republic under ruler Alexander Lukashenko actually describes itself as neutral in the war that has been going on for more than four months. Especially in the first weeks of the war, Belarus served as a retreat and logistical base for the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Lukashenko is an ally of Russian President Putin.
Source: Stern
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