Zelenskiy Warns Russia May Strike NATO or Ukraine From Belarus, Orders Northern Defenses
Updated
Updated · Reuters · May 15
Zelenskiy Warns Russia May Strike NATO or Ukraine From Belarus, Orders Northern Defenses
8 articles · Updated · Reuters · May 15
Zelenskiy said Russia is weighing attacks from Belarusian territory either toward Ukraine’s Chernihiv-Kyiv axis or directly against one of 3 neighboring NATO states—Poland, Lithuania or Latvia.
Ukraine says it has documented fresh Russian efforts to pull Belarus deeper into the war, including additional contacts with Alexander Lukashenko on what Zelenskiy called new aggressive operations.
Kyiv has ordered its forces to draft a response plan and reinforce defenses in the northern Chernihiv and Kyiv regions if Belarus backs the move.
Belarus let Russia use its territory in the February 2022 invasion but has not sent its own troops; Minsk has since hosted Russian tactical nuclear weapons and Oreshnik hypersonic missiles.
Is Belarus's leader playing both sides, or is a new Russian offensive from his country truly imminent?
Have Russian nuclear weapons in Belarus fundamentally changed the risk of a direct conflict with NATO?
With US focus shifted, can Europe alone defend the Suwalki Gap, NATO's most vulnerable point?