Kyiv does not exclude possibility of participation of Belarusian troops in invasion of Ukraine – Kuleba

KYIV. Dec 2 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Ukraine at a very serious level is considering a scenario in which a military invasion can be expected from Belarus, and in which Belarusian armed forces can be seen among the invaders’ units, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said.

"We are considering this scenario at a very serious level. We do not exclude such a possibility. 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. However, any potential threat requires not only attention, but also concentration of resources of the armed forces to mitigate it," Kuleba said in an interview with the Sargs.lv Latvian news portal, the text of which is published by the Ukrainian Embassy in the Republic of Latvia.

The minister said that even if Belarus at the moment does not pose a direct military threat to Ukraine, the facts are inexorable.

"Minsk’s political statements are now part of Russia’s aggressive foreign policy. Lukashenka’s declaration of recognition of Crimea as a constituent part of Russia, as well as the hybrid invasion by his regime against Latvia, Lithuania and Poland, makes him an open threat," Kuleba said.

He said that in order to prevent such a development of events, it is necessary to send an appropriate number of servicemen to the Belarusian border.

"Currently, we are deciding where to get these resources. The problem is that our capabilities are not unlimited, because by taking military power from one place, we reduce our defense capability in this area. Thus, these activities of Belarus directly meet the military interests of Russia," Kuleba said.

The Ukrainian Foreign Minister drew attention to the fact that Alexander Lukashenka recently announced that he plans to visit the Crimean peninsula occupied by Russia.

"This is a small but very important detail of a much larger picture. What is achieved in this way? With this statement, Lukashenka significantly burned all the bridges in relations with Ukraine, making Belarus a country hostile to Ukraine. Thus, if we consider the details of this general picture separately, it may seem that the situation can be corrected, but if these details are considered together, then we have to admit that the situation is quite alarming," she said.

According to Kuleba, despite Russia’s claims that it is not going to attack anyone, its actions speak much more than the official language of the Kremlin.