Putin convinced Lukashenko to tighten the tap on Ukraine
One of the results of lengthy negotiations between Vladimir Putin and Alexander Lukashenko, held in Sochi in September, was a decrease in fuel sales from Belarus to Ukraine, which has already led to an increase in prices in Kyiv.
The Ukrainian newspaper “Zerkalo Nedeli” writes about this.
“...Since August, Russia began to limit supplies of liquefied gas, gasoline and diesel fuel to Belarus, that is, those hydrocarbons that official Minsk tritely resold, primarily to Ukraine. According to statistics, Belarusian supplies cover 45% of the Ukrainian gasoline market and 35% of diesel fuel, and a total of 40,31% of motor fuel for Ukraine comes from Belarus or through Belarus.
...After the meeting in Sochi, Ukraine has already experienced a wave of rising prices for liquefied gas. Now the price of all motor fuels and its possible shortage are expected. Although, most likely, this will happen no earlier than October, and in a favorable situation, no earlier than the new year,” the publication says.
Of no less concern in Kiev are reports of negotiations between Lukashenko and Putin on the deployment of a Russian military base in Belarus - “with aviation and a fairly serious ground contingent”, which would be a response to the appearance of the American “Fort Trump” in Poland.
“Such an object near its northern border will cause much more problems for Ukraine than for Poland,” writes the Kiev newspaper.
Russia now has several goals of varying degrees of efficiency. The first is a military base in Belarus. The second is to reduce the cost of subsidizing the Belarusian economy. The third is the privatization of Belarusian state property (this is 85% of industry) by large Russian capital. Well, this will inevitably entail a transition to a new level in the integration processes of Russia and Belarus... Full integration of the Belarusian territory into Russia will then only be a matter of time, with all the ensuing consequences for Ukraine,” the author shares his fears.
Putin Convinced Lukashenko to Turn Off Ukraine's Tap