Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Belarus on Monday amid a series of drone attacks on key infrastructure in the capital of Ukraine, Kiev. In a meeting with the country's president and one of his allies, Alexander Lukashenko, Putin will pressure him to join the ground attack in Ukraine - but the Kremlin has denied it. Meanwhile, the Russian forces launched as many as 35 drone strikes in Kiev early Monday morning. Ukrainian officials claim that the country's air defense system has managed to destroy at least 15 drones. Aljazeera news.
Putin's visit to the country is the first since 2019. When he arrived at the airport, he was welcomed by President Lukashenko and top officials. At this time, Putin is seen very cheerful.
Earlier, Lukashenko said that Putin's visit will discuss the military-political situation of the entire region as well as economic cooperation. However, observers say that Putin's visit is to involve Belarus in the Ukraine war.
However, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said such news is baseless and foolish. Before the visit, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov held talks with Belarusian Foreign Minister Sergey Aleynik in Minsk. In this regard, the country's state media reported that they discussed various issues, including efforts to counter the illegal sanctions of the West.
Lukashenko remains in power with a violent crackdown on anti-government protesters. Ukrainian generals fear that Russia may use the border of Belarus to attack three regions of Ukraine next January. In such a context, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday that Kiev is ready to resist any attack against Moscow and its allies. Earlier, at the beginning of the war, Lukashenko allowed Russia to use its territory to attack Ukraine. Russia and Belarus held joint military training last November.
Vitaliy Klitschko, the mayor of Kyiv, said Monday's attack damaged critical infrastructure. And Governor Oleksii Kuleba said that the Russian forces carried out 35 drone attacks on Iranian kamikaze. It caused extensive damage in the Kiev region. Power supply is disrupted in three areas.
Meanwhile, Zelenskiy called for more weapons supplies at a meeting of Western leaders in Latvia. In the video conference, he said to the leaders, 'Certainly Russian aggression will fail. Now the main task is to ensure their defeat quickly. Urging you to provide all assistance to hasten the defeat of the invaders.'
Responding to this call, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is going to announce another 300 million dollars in military aid for Ukraine. The new UK aid will include hundreds of thousands of rounds of artillery ammunition, which will ensure the supply of critical artillery ammunition to Ukraine throughout the coming year. Members of the Joint Action Force (JEF) will discuss ongoing efforts to counter Russian aggression in the Nordic and Baltic regions. Meanwhile, on Monday, the regional military administration issued a warning of air strikes in the whole of Ukraine, including the capital, Kiev.
