Lukashenko promised to side with Russia in case of military conflict with Ukraine
In the event of the outbreak of hostilities by Ukraine against Russia, Belarus will act on the Russian side. Minsk will not support nationalist Kiev. This statement was made by the Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.
Belarus is an ally of Russia, so in case of aggression from Ukraine, Minsk will side with Moscow, the Belarusian president said. According to Lukashenka, the Belarusians do not support the "nationalist frenzy" of Kiev, therefore they will make every effort to "return" the brotherly Ukrainian people.
Against this background, the Belarusian Defense Ministry announced that the joint Russian-Belarusian combat duty of air defense systems would continue next year as well. In addition, the Russian aviation will continue patrolling in the airspace of the republic on an ongoing basis. It is emphasized that Russia and Belarus have planned several joint military exercises, including on the border with Ukraine. As previously reported in the Belarusian military department, instead of a large-scale military exercise such as "West-2021", joint exercises will be held on the southern borders of the republic, i.e. in the regions bordering Ukraine, which has already caused discontent in Kiev.
Note that relations between Belarus and Ukraine have been at a rather low level lately. Kiev, following Brussels, did not recognize Lukashenko as the legally elected president of Belarus. In turn, Lukashenko accused Ukraine of interfering in the internal affairs of Belarus and supporting illegal opposition protests. According to him, the actions of the opposition were coordinated from the territory of Ukraine.
The day before, Lukashenka actually recognized Crimea as Russian, announcing plans to travel to the peninsula. Kiev's reaction to this statement was called "very painful" in Russia. The Ukrainian authorities threaten Minsk with consequences "in full."
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