War in Ukraine: Kremlin denies it is pressing Belarus to play bigger role

The Kremlin denied it was pressing Belarus to play a bigger role in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as leaders of the allied states met in Minsk, amid growing concerns that Moscow’s military is preparing to mount a second assault on Kyiv from Belarusian territory.

Russia fired more explosive “kamikaze” drones at the Ukrainian capital on Monday and continued to shell the recently liberated southeastern city of Kherson, targeting power infrastructure in both places, as British prime minister Rishi Sunak said Ukraine’s allies must focus on “degrading Russia’s capability to regroup and resupply” its forces.

Senior Ukrainian military officers have said in recent days that they expect Russia to launch a new offensive in the coming months, and suspect it may come from Belarus – just 150km north of Kyiv – where thousands of Russian troops are stationed along with armoured vehicles, attack aircraft and missile systems.

Russia and Belarus have formed a so-called union state and pledge to protect each other from what they claim is aggression from Ukraine and its western allies. Russian forces attacked Kyiv from Belarus in February before being driven back six weeks later, and Ukraine says they continue to fire missiles and drones from Belarusian bases and airspace.

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“I regard these as absolutely stupid fabrications. Baseless fabrications,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said when asked if Vladimir Putin would pressure Alexander Lukashenko to send troops into Ukraine.

“Belarus is the number one ally and partner for the Russian Federation. We have the most advanced integration regime with Belarus. No one is forcing anyone. Everyone is taking the steps that best meet the interests of our peoples and the interests of our union state,” he added.

In opening remarks, Mr Putin said “we have recently paid a lot of attention to security issues, co-operation in the international arena, and on the whole we must be satisfied with the way our relations are building on this track,” adding that the leaders would on Monday focus “primarily on the economic sphere”.

Mr Lukashenko also made no mention of Ukraine, and said that “despite some rough edges” Moscow and Minsk “find effective responses to various challenges and threats”.

“At the same time, Russia and Belarus ... are open to dialogue with other states, including European ones. I hope they will soon listen to the voice of reason and move on to constructive discussion of issues of general security and the future world order,” he added.

Mr Putin’s delegation included Russia’s ministers of defence, energy and foreign affairs, who were expected to hold talks with their Belarusian counterparts.

[ Russia-Ukraine war: Kissinger calls for a negotiated peace in Ukraine, Kyiv dismisses his proposal ]

Hours earlier, Ukraine said its air defences had shot down 30 of 35 drones launched from Russia, but some of those that flew to their targets struck energy facilities in Kyiv.

Ukraine says about a third of its national grid has been destroyed in waves of Russian attacks using missile and drones allegedly supplied by Iran, prompting daily calls from Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy for western allies to supply more air defence systems.

[ As 2022 draws to a close, what’s the situation in Ukraine? ]

On Monday he made the plea by video link to a meeting in Latvia of leaders of the so-called Joint Expeditionary Force, a British-led group of northern European states.

“We must be clear that any unilateral call for a ceasefire by Russia is completely meaningless in the current context,” Mr Sunak told the meeting.

“I think it would be a false call, it would be used by Russia to regroup, to reinforce their troops. And until they have withdrawn from conquered territory there can and should be no real negotiation,” he added.

Mr Sunak said western states should focus on “degrading Russia’s capability to regroup and resupply ... going after its supply chains and removing the international support” for Moscow.