Kiev Not Ruling Out Invasion Into Ukraine From Belarus - Foreign Ministry

Sumaira FH Published December 02, 2021 | 10:41 PM

Kiev is seriously considering the scenario of an invasion into Ukraine from Belarus and does not rule out such a possibility, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said

KIEV (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 02nd December, 2021) Kiev is seriously considering the scenario of an invasion into Ukraine from Belarus and does not rule out such a possibility, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said earlier in an interview with RIA Novosti that he intended to visit Crimea, having a relevant agreement with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Lukashenko said that Crimea became de facto and de jure Russian after the 2014 referendum, and added that his trip would mean the recognition of the peninsula as part of Russia

"We are considering this scenario at a very serious level. We do not rule out such a possibility," Kuleba said in an interview with Latvian news portal Sargs.lv, answering whether Lukashenko's statements meant that an invasion could be expected not only from Belarus, but also that the Belarusian armed forces could be among the invaders' units.

At the same time, according to Kuleba, Kiev does not yet see the preparation of the Belarusian military for operations against Ukraine.

"So far we do not see that the Belarusian army is preparing for operations against Ukraine or that the Belarusian leadership can allow Russia to use its territory to organize an invasion," he said.

Kiev is currently looking for additional military forces to send them to the border with Belarus, Kuleba said.

"Any potential threat requires not only attention, but also the concentration of the resources of the armed forces to mitigate it. Even if Belarus does not yet pose a direct military threat to Ukraine, the facts are inexorable. Political statements by Minsk are now part of Russia's aggressive foreign policy," he said.

According to Kuleba, the problem is that the capabilities of the Ukrainian army are not unlimited.